RWBY - The Strength Of Revenge
by Dragondemolition
Summary: Having suffered at the claws of Grimm at a very young age, Ebris Eacho was fully determined to rid them from the face of the earth. Now, at present day, he is personally invited to join Beacon Academy, to train so that he can become a powerful huntsman. Will he ever achieve his goals, or will he fall to his own darkness?
1. Chapter 1 - Welcome To Beacon

_RWBY_

 _The Strength Of Revenge_

 _Volume 1 - Chapter 1 - Welcome To Beacon_

An indescribable heat was hitting his skin, and a weird smell of a mix between burning cloth and wood wouldn't leave his nostrils. He could feel the tears in his eyes almost evaporate off of his cheeks because of the heat around him, and he was too afraid to open them. But even then, that hauntingly dark orange glow was still there, no matter how hard he shut his eyelids.

A gunshot. A whistle of an arrow. A scream in the distance that could make even the toughest soldier´s spine tingle. His skin began turning to goosebumps, and a seething feeling along his shoulder and upper arm was burning deep into his memory.

He finally managed to open his eyes, but to his shock, he didn't see the burning buildings that he had been surrounded by all this time. Instead, he saw a pair of dark glowing eyes staring back into his own, and he felt a scream build in his throat.

The monster attacked, and…

He yelped as he sat up in his bed, his heart beating frantically in his chest. He was back in his school dorm room, the same room that headmaster Ozpin had permitted him to have for himself in the first few days he would stay at Beacon. It had been that same dark dream again, every night lately. But the seething warmth in his arm from his dream had not disappeared, like it never did.

He looked up at his shoulder and traced his fingers over the dark scar that seemed to almost pulsate off of his skin, shaped like three claw marks that had slashed him, all the way from his right shoulder and down the right side of his chest. The scar had darkened to a dark black over time, and his touch over the scar made the burning sting, the scar having haunted him ever since he was little.

"God dammit…" He mumbled irritated, pulling his t-shirt back in place "Can I have some damn sleep for once?"

His lack of sleep lately had made him irritable, impatient and moody, which had also had an impact on his training. Why his scar was acting up now of all times, he was unsure, but he knew that whenever he would dream that horrible nightmare, the sizzling pain in his shoulder would be back.

"Let's hope it's just that once tonight" He mumbled as he pulled the sheets back over his head.

The grimm. A horrible monstrosity that roamed the lands of Remnant, with their only intention being to kill everything in sight. They were responsible for the most casualties in the country, and if it hadn't been for them, he would neither have that scar, nor that horrible dream.

"Whatever…" He rolled around and cuddled up into his sheets before slowly snoozing back to sleep, the dream no longer haunting him for the rest of the night.

He hadn't always been a student at Beacon. He actually still wasn't, seeing as he hadn't enrolled just yet. In fact, it was only a few days ago that he had been approached by Ozpin, and asked if he wanted to enroll. Weirdly enough, Ozpin wouldn't tell why he had chosen him as an exclusive exception to join Beacon even after the enrollment ceremony, but Ozpin had had that certain glint in his eye that told him that there was more to the story than Ozpin let him on.

He had told Ozpin that he would have to speak with his adoptive parents, since his home laid maybe 200 kilometers away from Beacon Academy, but Ozpin had told him that he had already gotten approval from the two of them. So a few days later he had packed his things, said goodbye to his adoptive parents, and was on his way to beacon Academy.

The following morning after his nightmare, he was still tired and irritable, when he packed his books in his backpack for the first lesson that day. Since he enrolled a few days ago, he had made sure to stay by himself. He didn't feel like talking to anyone, since he needed to get used to this new feeling of having his own room.

He couldn't stop the intense beating of his heart in his chest as he walked down the path towards Beacon Tower. If it was because of a lack of sleep, or that he was simply unable to forget that dream from last night he was unsure, but he knew that he couldn't keep up with this for much longer.

Whenever he would have that dream, he would have a strange feeling. It was like the dream somehow had an impact on his aura, but so far, he had no idea how. Whatever it was, he knew that his semblance was somehow connected to what had happened in his past. When he checked the scroll he had been given by professor Ozpin, he could never see any significant change to his aura or semblance, but he still had a feeling that something was wrong.

He finally came to the conclusion that some fresh air probably would help him calm down, so when he got to the courtyard, he took a left and headed towards Beacon Tower.

He smiled quietly as he reached the base of the tower, looking up at the tall building. From up there, he was sure he could be alone and get some time to maul things over. Without a second thought, he used a black gravity dust crystal he had "borrowed" from a shop in town, to burst himself upwards and onto the building's roof.

He knew he was different than everyone else. Even though he had an aura like every other student in the academy, even headmaster Ozpin had commented on his Semblance's apparent difference to everyone else's. He had a feeling that the difference between his own Semblance and everyone else's, was the reason that Ozpin had sought him out in the first place.

But despite everything, Ozpin did tell him that his Semblance had a weird feeling to it compared to any other Semblance Ozpin ever had seen. The young man had this funny feeling that, that conversation with Ozpin would be far from the last.

But as much as his Semblance apparently was weird compared to the norm, he didn't care much. He was sure that everything would come along eventually, and to dig into the matter more than he already had probably wouldn't make Ozpin suddenly give up his secrecy and just tell him everything he needed to know. Besides, he didn't want to be distracted from his actual goal. These thoughts raced through his mind as he sat down at the edge of the roof and looked across the campus.

His thoughts once again drifted back to that nightmare. Ozpin knew more about him than he was happy for. Not only did Ozpin know from before he had approached him that his Semblance was special, but he also knew more about his past than he was entirely satisfied of. Ozpin's best argument for him to enroll in Beacon, was all based on his past.

A long time ago, he had promised himself that he would rid the world of Grimm, that horrible monstrosity, manifested of darkness and fear, the beings that had taken everything and more from him. When he was young, the grimm had attacked his village. Those who didn't get slaughtered, fled to the surrounding mountains or other villages, to warn them of this incoming threat.

He himself knew that he had been attacked by a huge Ursa Grimm, but he didn't remember much after that. He had awoken on a carriage on one of the aerial carriers, on their way to one of the nearby capital cities. There he was nursed back to health, but the both mental and physical scars that remained with him was still present, even to this day, hence the dark scratch scar over his arm and chest.

He had tried to meet up with his family, but he later discovered that both his parents and his sister all had been killed by the grimm. At first he didn't want to believe it, but when he has spent the good part of 3 years looking for them, he gave up, and fell into despair. Why was he the only one who had survived? He was only a young teenager at the time, his parents being adults and his sister being a trained graduate from the nearby huntsmen academy. How could they be killed, when a teenage boy with no training to speak of, apparently could survive the grimm's onslaught?

"You okay?"

He widened his eyes, and looked over his shoulder in surprise when someone behind him raised their voice. Pyrrha, one of the most highly praised girls at the school for her physical prowess, was suddenly standing on the top of the tower's spire, looking at him with a worried expression.

"What are you doing up here?"

Pyrrha was surprised at how deep and gruff his voice seemed compared to other boys his age. He had been the talk of the school lately, not only because he had enrolled on special terms, but because headmaster Ozpin himself had asked him to enroll.

The way his hair fell over his eyes, gave his gaze a dangerous shine to it, something that gave Pyrrha a feeling that he had seen more than most people at his age ever should.

"I saw you in the hallway" she said with a small smile "Decided to follow after you, and see what was wrong. Are you okay?"

He sighed softly. He didn't need anyone prying into his personal business.

"It's nothing…"

She sighed silently and looked in his general direction. She didn't know him, but she still had this feeling that she wanted to help him with whatever issue he was dealing with.

"You know, it often helps to talk about your problems" She mumbled softly as she sat down beside him.

"No, I just need some fresh air to clear my head" he objected. He had a hard time seeing the meaning behind it, since it wouldn't help much anyway.

"Sure, that seems to help for me too" She said with a chuckle "Just saying, your problems aren't going to disappear by keeping them to yourselves…"

"I'll just need to train harder so I can sleep deeper tonight" He mumbled as he got to his feet. "I'll make sure to kick Cardin's butt extra hard this afternoon"

Pyrrha giggled quietly at his promise of this apparent "Butt-kicking" he was going to give the school bully later. It sounded like this young man already knew of the role of school bullies Cardin and his team had established, even though he had only been at the school for a few days.

Pyrrha looked over at the young man and took a deep breath before speaking.

"What's your name?"

"Ebris. Ebris Eacho"

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos. If you ever want some tips on how to fight, come see me"

"Alright, sounds good"

He could sense that she was of good intentions, so he didn't see any reason to blow her off. He had heard of her before, from that sparkling fanboy, not sure what his name was. Apparently she was widely recognized and a powerful fighter.

His train of thought was soon put to a stop as the bell rung from the tower, signaling the beginning of the first session of classes. Since Ebris had neither been put on a team, nor in a class, Pyrrha was the only one who quickly got to her feet and began walking towards the edge of the roof.

"Sorry Ebris, I need to go!" Pyrrha said hurriedly as she stepped into the elevator "We have Grimm studies with Professor Port this morning!"

Ebris smiled and nodded as he raised a hand in goodbye, watching Pyrrha falling from the roof and using a gravity dust crystal to soften her fall before she hit the ground elegantly, and began running to class. Since all the students had their own classes to go to, he didn't have any sparring or training partner either.

"Maybe I should just spar with the training robots…" He mumbled, as he headed back to the elevator as well.

* * *

He tightened his hands around his trusted ebony daggers, Sinistral and Dextral. He closed his eyes and concentrated his aura for defense.

´Next attack is from behind, top right´

He smirked quietly and quickly whirled around, his semblance glowing a dark black as he cross blocked the blade of his opponent with his daggers. A quick glance into his opponent's eyes said it all. They were both fully determined to win their brawl, no different than any other sparring opponent he had faced so far at Beacon, alive or mechanical. He smirked quietly and pushed his opponent away, before doing a series of acrobatic jumps backwards.

He widened his eyes as in the middle of his third somersault, as his opponent suddenly rushed forward and attacked him with a series of kicks, and he barely managed to move his head to the left to avoid having his teeth kicked in. He put his hands on the ground and did a handstand, before spinning around and kicking his opponent across the face, making him stagger backwards.

Out of his spin he put his feet to the ground, and kicked at his opponents feet, sending him to the ground with a heavy thud. Ebris panted quietly as he stood up properly and jumped back, creating even more distance between him and his opponent.

"Damn, you're good" The guy he was fighting, smirked as he got back to his feet while rubbing his sore chin "That hurt you know?"

"Sure, I meant for it to hurt" Ebris said with a smirk "I wouldn't want my enemy to stand after all"

"Point taken"

Ebris took a deep breath just as his opponent rushed forward.

´Jump, dodge left, right, and kick at his chest, followed by a few slashes to his legs´

Following his own instructions, he raised his daggers in preparation. Just as the guy swung his sword, he stopped mid-swing and crouched, before kicking at Ebris' feet, but just as he had predicted, he jumped to avoid the kick and followed by dodging the opponents slashes by dodging left and right, before breaking his block with a kick on the flat end of his blade that he had put over his chest.

He staggered backwards and Ebris' followed, ducking and slashing at his opponent's legs, but as much as he tried to block with his blade, it was unprepared and slobby. Ebris' powerful strikes with his daggers was too much for his opponent, and he managed to jerk the blade out of his hands and into the air, before it dug into the ground somewhere behind his opponent.

"And the winner of this sparring match is Ebris Eacho!"

Professor Goodwitch declared the match was over with a smile, and clapped a bit as she approached the two sparring partners.

"Good work, both of you" She said sharply "Mr. Eachos, I'd like to talk to you later today, if you don't mind"

"Of course professor" Ebris nodded softly before shaking the hand of his sparring partner "Nice work"

"I still don't get how you managed to predict my moves, dude" He said with a smirk.

"Who knows?"

He smiled a little as he watched his sparring partner leave. ´Who knows? ´ He asked. Of course he knew. Using his semblance, he could temporarily predict whatever his opponent would do. The only downside to the whole thing is that whenever he would use his powerful semblance, he would become extremely exhausted, and he would often only be able to use this power for a very short amount of time. Of course everyone gets tired when overusing their semblance, but his semblance had such a powerful impact on him that he could barely use it for a minute before he would collapse from exhaustion.

Generally he preferred to avoid combat all together, and whenever he had no choice but to fight, he would use visual illusions and what he himself called "Dark clones", to manipulate his opponent into confusion. Though he had never actually used this in battle before, as he had proven more than enough of an opposition just with his predictions alone.

Ebris groaned a bit as he collapsed under his own weight from exhaustion and his professor widened her eyes as she caught him and supported his weight.

"Please, sit down and rest, Mr. Eacho" She said with stern look "You seem to have overworked yourself"

"Heh, give me five minutes and I'm back in the game" he chuckled weakly as she helped him out to the tribunes surrounding the arena.

She sighed silently, giving up on him for now.

"Just rest" She said, a stern glare in her eyes "The next sparring match is about to begin"

"What, I don't get to face Cardin?" he said with a smirk.

"Mr. Eacho, you can barely stand on your feet" She said with a raised eyebrow. "Plus, what did I tell you about your aura?"

Ebris rolled his eyes and huffed. He had only been at the academy for a few days, and he might have had the same rule told to him a million times.

"Always take a look at your aura's condition, and know when it's time to switch out with a teammate" He said irritated "For that is how you know when to go by an aggressive or more defensive fighting method"

"Very good. It seems that at least a bit of my teachings have been sticking" Ms. Goodwitch said with an approving nod Just stay here"

He nodded quietly as he watched his professor leave to check on the other sparring participants. He was so tired at this point, that even if he had tried, he wouldn't have been able to leave his seat.

After a few seconds of sitting by himself, he heard a confident voice from somewhere behind him.

"Nice fight, Eacho"

He looked up at the person that had addressed him, and saw a tall blonde girl approach him with a confident smirk, her aura practically glowing off of her. She was powerful, he could tell.

She was tall and slim, and her hair was reaching down to the lower of her back, her hips swaying left and right as she walked. Even her steps were filled to the brim with self-confidence. She was wearing a tan vest with gold piping over a yellow low-cut top with a black crest that resembled a burning heart. The vest had puffy cap sleeves with black cuffs.

Around her waist a brown belt with a buckle, a pouch, and a small banner-like object was sitting. The same burning heart crest from before was on this banner, except golden in color. She was wearing black shorts under her belt, which resembled a pleated skirt in the back.

In his head, he couldn't help but think of her as beautiful, hot even, but of course that wasn't anything he was going to tell her.

"Thanks. Are you about to spar?" He asked her, and she smirked as she smashed the gauntlets on her hands together.

"Damn straight I am" her confidence was practically shining off of her, Ebris noticed "I'm about to get my Yang on!"

He smiled a little and nodded at her confidence.

"Good luck with that" he said with a smile "If your opponent is not too much trouble, would you be interested in sparring later?"

"Please, you can barely stand as it is" she said with a laugh "I think the big bad rogue needs to cool down for today"

"Oh well, it was worth a shot" He chuckled softly "Good luck with your match"

They waved at each other as she parted ways from him, but he suddenly got a weird shiver down his back. He turned around and realized that several of the boys in the arena was glaring daggers at him. Was it because he had been talking to the blonde girl?

He sighed a bit and leaned back in his seat as he checked his aura on his scroll.

"30% huh?"

He sighed in frustration and put his scroll back in his pocket.

He knew he wasn't strong enough to complete his mission right now. He knew he had to get stronger, and in the meantime, there was no logic in obsessing over it. Might as well live his life when he was able to.

Because for some reason, he had this annoying feeling that peace wouldn't last forever.


	2. Chapter 2 - Chivalry In Disguise

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 2 – Volume 1 – Chivalry In Disguise_

After watching the beautiful Yang Xiao Long walk off the arena after a very quick and very clearly unfair fight, Ebris smiled quietly to himself as he leaned against the tribunes behind him.

"That Yang… She's powerful indeed" He mumbled silently "I wonder… What kind of training has she done to become that powerful?"

"Meh, not anything specific" A loud and joyful voice said from behind him, startling him slightly "Just a bit hardheaded is all"

He looked up over his shoulder, and widened his eyes as he realized someone was standing behind him, namely Yang's younger sister, Ruby, standing behind him with a bright smile and her giant scythe over her shoulder.

"Hmm… Must be something else though" He said with a calculating tone "It's got something to do with her semblance, doesn't it?

"Yeah, it does" She smirked and let her scythe fold back into wearable form so she could strap it onto her back and sit down beside him "But I promised her not to tell you. She's looking forward to having a fair fight with you"

"Did she say that, or do you just know because she's a hothead?" He asked "I could practically feel her drill holes in my neck before she went to fight that guy"

He pointed down at the stadium where Yang's opponent was getting treatment, seeming woozy and dizzy. He never stood a chance, poor guy.

"A little bit of both, I guess" She laughed and smiled "Whenever she finds a powerful opponent, she gets too riled up for a fight with them and she often has way too much energy for her own good"

"Guess that's true"

A silence fell between them as they continued to watch the training students fight each other in the arena. Ebris hadn't talked to Ruby very often, only the occasional "Hey" as they passed each other in the halls, or a short conversation at lunch before they each went to hang out with their respective teams, or in Ebris case, alone.

But despite that, the silence that fell between them wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. Ebris had seen Ruby in battle, maybe only in the arena, but she was good. She had very unique abilities, abilities that might not have reached the surface, but hiding somewhere beneath, ready to come out when the time demanded it.

She and the rest of her team, team RWBY, were among of the more popular students at their current grade, both for their social standings and their skills in battle. Plus, he had heard several of the boys in class calling the four of them, namely Ruby, Yang, Blake and Weiss, the Battling Beauty Brigade. Many of the boys wanted to ask one of them out, and often dared each other to do so, but either they chickened out or were rejected outright. Poor Neptune. But that's what happens when you try and ask someone like the ice queen out.

Ebris remembered personally how Neptune had asked Weiss out, and she had gone so red in the head that Ebris was certain that Yang's semblance of fire had transferred to her somehow. A yell and a sprint later, and Weiss was gone, having ran away faster than possibly even Ruby while she used her Speed semblance.

"Yo Ruby, 10 bucks to tell me everything you know about Yang's fighting style" He gazed at her with a solemn look. He wanted to see what kind of strengths and weaknesses she possessed.

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment, probably intrigued by the idea, but Ebris was not sure if she would actually take the bait.

"Are you asking me to betray my own flesh and blood!?" She said, making a dramatic sweep with her arm "I am shocked!"

"That isn't a no" He said.

"Maybe not. Okay, but you'll have to owe me a favor!"

"Deal!"

* * *

"Whelp, guess I'm in for it now" He mumbled softly "Who knows what that Ruby girl was capable of conjuring in that mind of hers…"

He mumbled this to himself as he watched the clouds drift overhead. The fact that Yang usually had a hard time dealing with kick-based opponents, since she'd have to get up close and personal with her own techniques, didn't surprise him at all. A fighting style primarily based on kicks would keep a good distance between her and her opponent, while at the same time still doing more than enough damage.

"Hand to hand combat, huh? If I manage to keep a distance between us, I should be able to figure out her soft spots before she can do any real damage"

He chuckled quietly to himself as he gazed out over the courtyard of Beacon academy. This place didn't look half bad, but he didn't have much of an impression of the classes or any of the teachers since he hadn't been participating in classes yet. Besides maybe headmaster Ozpin, and Glenda Goodwitch the strict "magician", he had no idea what to think of this place yet.

He looked forward to finally starting classes and learning about the Grimm. As weird as it sounded, he found them fascinating. They were nothing but pure darkness and evil, and they were somehow attracted to emotions of fear and hatred. What made it so that they could feel fear? And how would he make sure that that ability was lost on them?

He had to put his train of thought on hold though, as he suddenly heard a soft cry. A yell.

"Stop it!"

He frowned silently as he stood up onto his feet, looking across all the space of the campus he could see from the top of the clocktower. Who had yelled? And what was the reason for the cry of help?

His frown deepened as he spotted the source of the yelling from around the base of the clocktower. Cardin and his group seemed to be bullying the faunus that resembled a bunny, Velvet Scarlatina, once again. They had all grouped up on her from all sides, and Cardin was laughing as he pulled at her ears.

Ebris absolutely despised Cardin. He only seemed to be around to cause dismay and harm, and wherever he were, chaos would follow. He was annoying, loudmouthed, obnoxious and an ass to anyone that wasn't in his little clique, or as Ebris called them, the personal "Cardin Fan club".

He huffed and stepped off the edge of the clocktower, slashing his daggers into the wall of the tower to slow his decent until he pulled them back out and landed in-between Cardin and Velvet, glaring at him with an angry expression.

"I ask you, and I ask you once" He said silently as he stood up proper "Leave Velvet alone"

Cardin just smirked and let go of Velvet's long bunny ear.

"Haha, and who are you to protect her, squirt?" He said with a smirk as he pushed Ebris' chest "You think you're something?"

Ebris just rolled his eyes and sighed silently as he stumbled backwards from the push. Cardin was perfect at playing the typical brawny jock guy, the one who always picked on the smallest in the crowd. Ebris wasn't one to be picked on though. That was over the moment he got the scar that currently covered must of his upper arm and chest.

Ebris was so focused on Cardin that he hadn't noticed that a small crowd of students had formed around them. He slowly drew his daggers.

"Last warning Cardin" He warned again, letting the sun's glow reflect off his blades and into Cardin's eyes to show them off "Back off"

"Or what?" He asked menacingly, pulling out his mace.

Ebris sighed again and shrugged a bit.

"Don't say I didn't warn you"

Cardin smirked and swung at him preemptively but Ebris ducked and jumped backwards, before dashing forward and slashing him a couple of times across the middle of his chest. Since Cardin's mace was fairly heavy he did not raise it in a block in time, and stumbled backwards from the attack, growling in anger.

"You're dead, you little punk!"

He yelled as he charged straight for Ebris, but Ebris suddenly vanished, leaving Cardin in a confused daze. He raised his mace in alarm, looking all around him cautiously.

"Let me ask you something, Cardin"

Cardin widened his eyes and whirled around, expecting to see Ebris right behind him, like his voice indicated. But Ebris was nowhere to be found.

"Are you used to getting everything you want?"

He whirled again, once again finding nothing. Strange. Ebris' voice kept calling out to him from right behind him, but he was never there in person.

"That's the only thing I can imagine making a person treat everyone else like his personal toys"

He growled and his grip instinctively gripped harder at his mace.

"Come out and face me, you little shit!"

He was growing frustrated. No matter what direction he looked, he couldn't see his opponent anywhere.

He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder and he whirled around once again, and once again, nothing.

"Down here"

He looked down in realization, and widened his eyes as Ebris suddenly materialized in a black mist, before uppercutting him and making him fall to the ground, hard. Ebris just huffed silently and clenched his fist, looking down at his downed opponent.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

Suddenly the crowd around them dispersed, making way for Glenda Goodwitch who was stomping over to them with an angry expression.

"Fights on campus are strictly forbidden by school rules!" She yelled angrily as she pulled Cardin up with one strong tug "I honestly expected better things out of you!"

She frowned and looked up at Ebris, a disappointed expression crossing her features.

"Especially from you, Mr. Eacho"

Ebris just huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. He deserved it as far as I see it"

"I couldn't give a dead Grimm of whether he deserves it or not" Glenda said, pushing Cardin off her as he finally regained his balance "I'll see you both tomorrow after school for detention."

She left them both after breaking up the fight, and the crowd hurried to disperse so as to not piss off Ms. Goodwitch even more, the only people staying behind being Velvet, and Ren, Nora, Jaune and Pyrrha, who had all been watching the fight unfold from afar.

Cardin made sure to be the first to disappear, since Ms. Goodwitch possibly was the only person who could set him in his place. And Ebris couldn't help but smirk a bit as he watched Cardin stick his tail between his legs and scramble away. Uppercutting his stupid face felt really good to Ebris, weirdly satisfying.

Velvet looked at Ebris a bit nervously as she approached him.

"You didn't have to do that. I've dealt with their group before" She mumbled softly "Now you got detention because of me"

Ebris just smiled at her and shook his head.

"Don't worry. It's all good" He said with his smile growing on his face "Why is he picking on you?"

She shrugged a bit and began fiddling nervously with her fingers.

"I don't know. He keeps pulling my ears" She sniffled a little "Says it's because they look funny"

Ebris frowned a little and sighed as he patted her head gently.

"Just tell me if he begins picking on you again" he said softly. "I'll kick his sorry ass back to the stone age he so obviously came from"

Velvet giggled a bit and nodded softly.

"Thank you so much, uhm… uh…" She hesitated a little, since she didn't know his name.

"Ebris. Ebris Eacho" He smiled, offering his hand in a handshake.

"Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina"

Ebris smiled and shook her hand.

"Well Velvet, we should probably hurry because uhh…" He gazed at the clocktower "We have about 20 seconds before Ms. Goodwitch gives all of us detention for skipping class"

Several yells could be heard nearby.

"WHAT!? No! I can't get tardiness marks again!" Jaune yelled as he began to run across campus.

"jaune wait up!"

The rest of his team, Velvet and Ebris, ran after Jaune as quickly as they could. Ebris looked over at Pyrrha as they booked it.

"I'll create an illusion and distract Glenda!" he yelled to her "You just focus on getting everyone to class in time!"

"What about you!?" Pyrrha said as they ran.

"I'm not assigned to a team or class yet, so I'm fine!" He yelled back "Just make sure that Ren, Nora and especially Jaune, gets to class in time!"

She nodded and used her semblance, to grab hold of everyone's magnetic equipment, and speed them up temporarily. Meanwhile, using his own semblance, Ebris created his illusion clone, and used one eye to watch it begin to distract Glenda as she walked through the halls, and the other to see where he was going.

"So Glenda, what does it take to get extra curriculum in your classes?" his afterimage asked as he leaned against a wall in Glenda's path.

Glenda was looking into a scroll-pad and didn't even lift her gaze as she walked straight past the clone he had created, quickly making him lose faith in his ability to distract.

"Go to classes on time, take notes, and work till you deserve those curriculums" She stated, in no way slowing down on the way to class "Certainly not by acting like you did earlier with Mr. Winchester"

"And I totally understand that, but Cardin deserved it!" he insisted as he walked alongside her, getting too close to class for comfort "He was picking on Velvet! That is not okay!"

This actually made Glenda turn to look at his clone.

"And you want to solve violence with more violence?"

"Okay to be fair, I gave him several warnings which he decided to ignore" Ebris retaliated, making Glenda sigh and put her glasses back in place.

"Listen Mr. Eacho, you have a good heart" She said, less stern than normal "But I will not accept violence on my campus, hiding behind the excuse of being chivalrous"

"Huh!? Excuse me?"

He hadn't meant to raise his voice against his professor, but hearing this by one of his peers somehow ticked him off.

"Mr. Eacho, I've been teacher for children your age for several decades" she said with a stern look "You learn to see through people when your job is literally to be around young individuals like yourself all day.

I'm not saying that helping Ms. Scarlatina wasn't a part of it, but I know for a fact that you despise Mr. Winchester with a passion. Not that it isn't slightly justifiable. But I know that you in all secrecy were waiting for an opportunity to, and pardon my French, "Kick Cardin's ass".

You were eager to get to fight him during sparring today, and got disappointed when you didn't get to. I also noticed how you keep having these impromptu value-measuring contests with him whenever you bump into him in the halls. Cardin picks on everyone, but he sees you as a rival. Someone he has to surpass to feel validated. And his general attitude towards others ticks you off."

Ebris was about to object, but was cut off by Glenda's continued speech.

"What I'm trying to say is, that I know why you are trying to prove yourself, by beating him in physical combat. Not proving yourself to anyone else, but to yourself, that you've gotten stronger. But strength as a huntsman means more than just being good at throwing fisticuffs at your opponent. It craves mental strength, something you might not be the best at considering your background"

He growled annoyed. He didn't need anyone to remind him of his past. Certainly not this bitch who had lived happily all her life, as far as he was concerned.

"Just remember to train your mental state as well" Glenda warned, before turning back towards the direction of the classroom "You of all people should know that there exists ways to manipulate the mind in battle. And if you want strength, don't use others to prove it to yourself"

He frowned and gazed away, refusing to look at the professor as she began walking again. He was sure that he had distracted her long enough for the others to reach the classroom without having to worry about any detention time.

Without another word he let his illusion shatter and let his gaze fall. He had fallen behind the others far beforehand, leaving him as the only occupant of the hall.

"My mental training huh?"

He mumbled this softly. Glenda had hit her head on the nail. He needed validation to at least know he was improving. Instead he got a full on spout about how he needed to focus more on mental enhancement and boosting his mental defenses. What would that help though against mindless destructive beasts such as the Grimm? He didn't get it.

"I'll show you mental training" He growled, as he marched back towards the training grounds.

* * *

"hmm… very interesting"

Ozpin smiled and couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the young students scatter like insects across campus, each of them headed to their designated classrooms. He noticed how quickly Ebris was teaming up with Pyrrha and forming a plan on how to get to their classes before their teacher, and he marveled happily as he realized how quickly and effectively he and Pyrrha worked together.

"Hmm… Maybe team JNPR can accept another member?"

"why is that of any importance right now, Ozpin?"

Ozpin smiled up at General Ironwood that was gazing down at him with a steely expression from the computer console above his desk.

"Of course it's important, Ironwood" He insisted "The subject being so fragile makes him in need of a stable environment"

"Talking about that, how is project Tenebris coming along?"

"I can't say for sure yet. It has only been a few days after all" Ozpin said as he calmly took a sip of his warm coffee mug "Give it some time. If we're patient, I can guarantee a good result"

"Just be careful with that subject, Ozpin" Ironwood said with a worried frown "They're the culmination of over ten years of grimm research. If this fails, I'll have the entire board on my ass for weeks"

"Just give me time, Ironwood" Ozpin smiled patiently and looked back out of his office window "Rome wasn't built in one day."

He pressed a button at his mic and spoke into it.

"Could Ebris Eacho come to my office please? I repeat, could Ebris Eacho please drop by Professor Ozpin's office. Thank you"

 **A/N**

 **Hey guys, thank you for reading my newest fanfic!**

 **I absolutely love RWBY, and i hope it shines through in my writing.**

 **Make sure to leave a review if you have any thoughts on my writing, and any ideas on future plot progression.**

 **See you guys next time!**


	3. Chapter 3 - It Begins

_RWBY_

 _The Strength Of Revenge_

 _Chapter 3 – Volume 1 – It Begins_

Having heard enough of Goodwitch's lectures towards him about mental training, Ebris was about to head towards the training ground for another few hours of intense training, when his name was called over the overhead announcement speakers.

"Could Ebris Eacho come to my office please? I repeat…"

He sighed silently and stretched.

"Argh, just when I was about to go train too" he said with a pout "Having the training grounds all to myself would have been amazing"

He sighed and turned in the opposite direction, towards the tower that held Ozpin's office. A quick elevator ride later he stood in Ozpin's office, Ozpin himself spinning around to face him in his chair as he entered.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Eacho" he smiled and pushed forward a cup of steaming cocoa "Please take a seat. We have something to discuss"

Ebris was wondering whether this was about the encounter he had had with Cardin, so he quickly sat down and frowned.

"Now before you begin, I want you to know that I wanted Cardin to leave Velvet alone!" he started "And also-!"

Ozpin held up a hand and shook his head in his usual calm demeanor.

"That is not why I have summoned you here" He smiled as he dismissed this claim "Though I would also like to have an explanation for that sometime"

Ebris blushed a little before sitting back in his seat and falling silent.

"No, this is about your enrollment here in the academy" Ozpin said as he took a sip of his mug, gesturing for Ebris to taste as well "I believe we have all the preparations in order"

"That is actually great news" Ebris said with a satisfied relief "I was actually beginning to wonder when I would get to join a team, and join classes like everyone else"

"We'll get to that, don't you worry" he smiled and stood up from his chair, walking over to his large window and looking out "Your initiation ceremony will begin in a week, the 13th"

Ebris nodded softly. Finally. Finally some action. He couldn't help but let a smirk play on his lips.

"Any details on what my initiation will be like?" Ebris asked out of curiosity "I already know that Beacon's students got to deal with the grimm of the Emerald Forest"

"That is right" Ozpin nodded softly "Your initiation will be a little different though"

He turned back towards his desk and rolled out a map of the kingdom of Vale.

"Our plan was to start the initiation just like everyone else's" He smiled "You'll be slung into Emerald Forest by bounce pad, and if my calculations are correct, you'll land just about in the middle of the area.

From there, you have several options as to where you want to go. The abandoned temple to the north, the cave system to the south, the lakeside to the east, and the mountains to the west. You can choose to go to any of these four locations. The exact coordinates will be uploaded to your scroll"

Ebris nodded silently.

"Is this some sort of retrieval quest like the other initiation ceremony?"

Ozpin shook his head.

"We have handpicked four established teams for you to join. Team RWBY, Team CFVY, Team JNPR, and Team CRDL. Each team has been established their own location in one of the four that you will be given. When you land in Emerald Forest, you are assigned to choose one of the locations, and go to the coordinates you are given.

When you arrive at the chosen location, you are to find the team that is based there, and you are to fight the team leader. The outcome of the battle determines whether you join the team in question, or is refused from the academy. We cannot have single-person teams here, as the four member team combo has been a tradition for many years."

Ebris sighed silently and rubbed the bridge of his nose. So potentially, he could end up having to join Cardin's team? He knew he could kick his ass in a fair fight, so unless he threw the match completely, he'd most likely win. But even so, he knew that the school had put up security cameras to monitor the student's performance in the area, so throwing the match would probably not be accepted.

Ebris groaned at the idea of having to join team with Cardin and those Faunus' bullying assholes. How could Ozpin even consider this idea!?

"Excuse me sir, but please do say again which teams I can potentially join. I think in a moment of excitement you told me that team CRDL is one of them"

He rubbed the innerside of his ear and looked at him in disbelief. Though his comical sarcasm didn't amuse Ozpin the slightest.

"That is because they are one of the teams you can join" Ozpin said with a steely expression.

"You do know that I hate Cardin with every fiber of my being, right?"

"And through that exactly, will you learn to grow" Ozpin said with a tap of his cane "Only through trial do you get to evolve and develop as a human. And I do believe that being on the same team could be an excellent learning experience for the both of you"

"But-"

"No buts! This decision is final" Ozpin said with a glare "I know I said you have a special semblance Mr. Eacho, but that does not mean you get to overthrow the rules that I establish. I am still headmaster here"

Ebris could feel the angry fire in his gut build up to the extreme. Partner with Cardin? Ha, he'd rather kill himself or get eaten by a Nevermore.

"That doesn't make any sense though" Ebris tried again "If the four member team combo is such a tradition that you'd like to uphold, then why break it with a five member team!?"

"This is only a last safety measure" Ozpin said calmly "It does happen that we one year accept an uneven number of students, because of various circumstances. Either because we believe those certain students excelled with bravour in their entrance exams, or because a certain teacher has seen the potential in a student, and wish to enroll them because that is for the better good of both the student and the academy.

This would be the case for both you, Mr. Eacho, and young Ms. Ruby Rose, who I believe you already know of"

Ebris gritted his teeth in annoyance and growled. This old bastard had thought of everything huh? Ebris had no more cards to play, so he decided to fold and give up, falling silent.

"That was all I wanted to discuss. Remember, the 13th this month"

Every last word up after CRDL's mention pissed Ebris off. He turned on his heel and stomped out, but not before drawing his dagger and slicing one of Ozpin's bookshelves in half, letting it collapse with a loud thud on his way out. That probably resulted in property damage repairs and a couple of disciplinary lessons, but at the time, he didn't give a shit.

He was seething with anger all the way down the tower and back to the training grounds. Might as well take this anger out on a dumb training robot or twenty.

* * *

Having been grateful towards Ebris for helping her out of Cardin's grip and take a detention lesson for her sake, Velvet had been growing worried of him as they ran through the halls to reach class before Goodwitch. Not only did he seem like a person with a lot on his plate, but at the same time he wasn't even on a team yet. She was curious to know, just why did he come to Beacon later than everyone else?

It was this curiosity that had made her consult with her team, and ask them if they'd seen him anywhere, after the last class that day.

Coco had said something about seeing him storm towards the direction of the training grounds when she was out gathering a few supplies for their teacher, so the first thing Velvet did after talking to them, was heading directly to the training grounds.

Having arrived there a few minutes ago, she had been watching Ebris fight the many training assailants specifically designed for training purpose, many of them mechanical robots. There was a certain anger behind his attacks, one that didn't leave much space for his mechanical adversaries to actually get anywhere near him.

He was incredibly fast with his daggers. One moment he was plunging the blade into a robot's mechanical eye socket, and the next he could be in an entirely other part of the arena, fighting several robots all at once. It was clear to see that he had had training before coming to Beacon. Maybe he was a student at Signal? He reminded her a lot of Pyrrha Nikos, as in the fact that they seemed to be about equal in their fighting capabilities.

Not wanting to break Ebris' concentration, she sat on the sidelines and watched him fight. He was fighting so passionately, that he had not even noticed that she was watching him. She didn't know how long he had been training at this point, but he was definitely tired. Not only was his breath deep and almost gasp-like, but sweat was running down his forehead like someone had turned on a faucet.

He slowly began to slow down as the last robot was finally downed, and he wiped his forehead with the back of his arm, before looking up in her direction and tensing up a bit from surprise. He must have thought he was alone all this time.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, no maliciousness behind it, but a tone of surprise "Aren't you supposed to have classes?"

"Classes ended just a few minutes ago" Velvet answered, walking down towards him in the arena "I wanted to tell you thanks, for helping me with Cardin"

He chuckled, a small smile forming on his features as he ruffled Velvet's hair again, a sensation she was not yet used to, but certainly didn't object to in contrast to Cardin pulling her ears.

"No worries. That guy's a prick"

"Still, you didn't have to get involved and you did" She smiled, a blush playing on her cheeks "I know about your initiation from professor Ozpin."

He nodded silently and sighed.

"Yeah. I could possibly end up on Cardin's team" He mumbled "I'm pissed about it"

So that's where all that anger came from.

"Don't take it too hard" She mumbled softly, fidgeting with her uniform's skirt between her fingers "It's only a 25% chance. Even if you end up on their team, you'd kick their ass whenever they misbehave"

A laugh escaped him and he nodded softly.

"Not that I would complain about that" He smirked "Still, it's kind of a one-time thing huh? The fact that a new five member team is gonna be established"

"I actually read a book of that once" She said with a hint of excitement in her voice "I think it's happened only a couple of times every five years or so"

"Okay, so it's not a rarity at the very least" he smiled "But still, it's not that common of an occurance"

"I have to wonder though" Velvet's ears fell a little as she pinched her chin in thought "How will that work when you and your team will participate in the Vytal Festival later this month"

"Oh yeah, I heard about that from one of the other students" Ebris nodded, once again wiping his sweaty forehead "There's entire team fights, and also 2v2 fights, but I've never heard of a five member team participating"

"I'm actually not sure" Velvet mumbled in curiosity as she tapped her cheek "I wouldn't be surprised if five member teams are banned from the tournament entirely, considering they have an extra person"

Ebris sighed silently.

"I would hate that" he chuckled "All I want is to test myself against strong opponents. I need to know how strong I've become"

"W-Well.." Velvet's cheeks flushed a little "I think you looked awesome as you were training… To me, you seem to be on levels along Pyrrha Nikos"

"You think?" He blushed a little and gazed away, apparently embarrassed to be praised "hehe, I guess I have gotten a little faster than normal"

He scratched his cheek sheepishly and she couldn't help but giggle silently at his sheepish demeanor. So he had such a side to him too, huh?

"Well, whatever happens at your initiation," She mumbled softly, letting her ears stand back up proper "I hope you get on a team you'll love"

"Haha, so far I'd most rather be on your team"

The words didn't seem to mean much to Ebris, but it struck at something inside the shy bunnygirl. She wasn't sure what it was exactly, but she could feel a jolt of a weird mix of shyness and pride well up inside her as he said those words.

Then again, why would he prefer to join her team than for example RWBY? She didn't think of him as a pervert or anything of the sort, but wouldn't it be better for him to join a team consisting of females rather than a team split down the middle?

She shook off these thoughts of uncertainty and smiled up at Ebris.

"I have some books I need to return to the library, but…" She gazed out at the battlefield, still littered with tarnished metal and slashed robot parts "I'll see you later okay?"

She waved at Ebris and smiled as he waved back, a new sort of happiness welling up inside her. No one had ever stood up for her like Ebris did today, and she made sure to repay him somehow, someday.

"Yeah, see you" Ebris smiled and watched her leave, before looking around him with an awkward smile "Maybe I did go a tad overboard…"

He sighed silently and hung his head as he realized just how much robotic technology laid wasted on the battlefield around him, scratching his neck in annoyance.

"This is gonna take forever to clean up… urgh…"

* * *

Time went fast when you were an initiate at Beacon. All Ebris' time went by with intense training, and he didn't really talk to anyone besides the casual hey to Ruby or Velvet when they passed each other in the halls.

Before he even had time to realize it, a week had already passed, and the day of the initiation had already dawned on him.

"Now students, pay attention please"

Glenda Goodwitch was currently rounding up the students as Ebris stepped up to his bounce pad. His heart was racing like crazy. He was definitely nervous, despite his confidence in his abilities.

"Can you tell me again why the other students need to watch this?" Ebris asked headmaster Ozpin as he looked over at him, standing to his left.

"Having eyes on you will mean you're the center of attention" Ozpin explained "It will tense you up, and at the same time show us teachers how good you work under pressure"

He huffed silently and rolled his eyes. Of course. Why not make this even tougher on him than it already was.

"Plus, this might be quite a good break from sitting behind a desk all day" Ozpin chuckled "Who knows, you might put up quite the entertaining show for us"

Ebris was about to retort when Goodwitch spoke up.

"Everyone, I hope you're paying attention" she continued "This event doesn't happen often you know?"

"This is gonna be so good" Cardin smirked "I can't wait to see Ebris be eaten by a Beowulf!"

"Whatever Cardin" Yang said with a frown "He's ten times stronger than you've ever been"

"Why you-!"

"That's enough" Pyrrha said, a hint of anger in her voice "We're here to watch Ebris be initiated, not for you two to start fighting"

The two was quickly separated as Ebris stepped up onto his bounce pad. This was it. In front of him the vast area of Emerald Forest stretched, everything not concealed in thick fog being nothing but a huge forest of red leaved trees. As much as he was looking forward to decapitating some Grimm, he didn't want to mess up and give Cardin a good excuse to laugh at him.

He clenched his grip on Sinistral and Dextral, and took a stance in preparation for the bounce pad to launch him up, just as Velvet walked up to him.

"Good luck with the ceremony" She said with a shy smile.

"Thanks" He smiled and winked back at her, before he was sent flying across the sky, a sea of red flying by below him.

"Alright, RWBY, CFVY, JNPR and CRDL, back to the airships. You better be ready to fight one hell of a fighter"

Everyone nodded and began to walk back to the airship they had arrived in, Velvet taking one last look back over her shoulder before she stepped into the ship, the heavy steel door closing behind her as it took off.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Initiation

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 4 – Volume 1 –The Initiation_

Having burst through the overhead tree canopy of Emerald Forest, Ebris landed on the ground, planting his feet solidly as he landed. He released the breath he had held in preparation for when his mass hit the ground and looked around him cautiously, knowing that there could be Grimm around any bush or tree.

"Hmm… this is more nerve wreaking than I thought" Ebris mumbled, pushing through a group of bushes after having checked his scroll for the coordinates "Damn it, stop worrying. You'll do fine"

He didn't know why he was so nervous. Maybe it was because he knew someone was watching him. Not that he was usually the shyest of individuals, or usually cared about what people thought of him. But it still put a certain weight on his shoulders.

Or maybe it was because he was going to face an actual opponent this time. Not some robot programmed for combat, or a training exercise. This was gonna be an all-out match between him and some other student of Beacon.

He was gonna be fighting Ruby, Jaune, Coco, or Cardin in this match, and he was a bit torn at who he wanted to fight.

"It would be wonderful to kick Cardin's butt" He said with a smirk and a chuckle "But it would honestly be interesting to fight one of the other three as well… Ruby I've seen in battle when training before, but I've never seen Jaune or Coco fight. I don't even know what weapons they use"

That was another concern that Ebris had been thinking about in the time he prepared for the initiation match. He wasn't knowledgeable about the other combatants. Sure he had seen Ruby fight before in training, but he had never seen her go all out.

As for the other three, he had never even seen them fight. He knew nothing about their weapons besides Cardin who used a mace, their fighting styles, semblances or strategies. This meant that he would have to learn as they fought. That wasn't exactly optimal.

"I guess I just have to rely on my instincts" He mumbled softly, pushing through the thick underbrush, his boots occasionally catching on a root. "Damn these roots!"

He growled annoyed and pulled his boot free and continued forth.

"Okay, so a week ago Ozpin told me what direction I'd need to go in order to go to each location… The mountains, the lake, the cave system, or the temple…"

He looked down at his scroll again. The four coordinate sets had finally been uploaded. True to Ozpins words, the four locations were located north, south, east and west.

"Hmm… I would need a good amount of places I could hide if necessary… But at the same time it would have to be a terrain that is open enough for to be able to get a good overlook before we fight. While that cave system would be perfect for a stealth approach like mine, I doubt I could fight effectively in there. Too dark, and too easy to get lost in.

The temple and the lakeside would probably be too open though. The whole lake would be surrounded by trees, yes. But still, that didn't do much against an eventual scythe cutting everything down in its path. But would it be able to cut through stone?"

He sighed silently and let his hand run down his cheek in frustration.

"Of course it's dumb to just assume I'll meet that damn scythe wielder" He mumbled, referring to Ruby "But then again, I don't really know anything about the others. Maybe battling Ruby would be the best to hope for after all. She's small and young after all"

He sighed silently, and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small wallet from which he produced a single card of Lien, deciding that the coordinate he would follow would be decided on a coin toss, or card toss in this case.

"Alright, so mountains and lakeside, blank side. Cave system or ruins, symbol side"

He attached the Lien to his dagger and threw it straight in the air, waiting for it to collapse against the ground. The first side he'd see would be the victor.

"Oh, so mountains or lakeside now" He said after the first victory.

He threw it again, and as the card once again fell with its symbol side upwards, he now knew that the mountains were where he was headed.

"Alright. This better not be a mile long trek, I swear" He mumbled as he once again began pushing through the thick underbrush.

His thoughts was quickly interrupted by a magnificent roar, one that very much reminisced of the one a bear would make when they told you to get lost or lose your life. Except Ebris knew that no normal animals would dare to come out of their hiding spots because of the Grimm in the forest. Plus, he was almost certain that no larger animals than deer and such even existed in the forest to begin with.

"Of course it had to be Ursai" He mumbled as he drew his daggers and went into combat stance "This seemed like a better idea back in Ozpin's office a week ago"

He frowned silently as four huge Ursai Grimm growled and bared their teeth while prowling towards him, their huge bodies and muscular stature a sight to behold. A certain fear awoke in Ebris' heart as he gazed at the towering masses, but something within him kept his fear from growing, instead making room for frustrated anger that had waited many years to be unbound.

"Take a deep breath and concentrate, Ebris" He muttered to himself, all the while clenching his hands around his now unsheathed Dextral and Sinistral "You're a huntsman now… In training, but still a huntsman"

Despite him telling himself to calm down, he could quickly feel his heartrate and his breathing increase in speed. His face contorted in anger, and his grip on his weapons tightened.

His nervousness and fear slowly dissipated, and was replaced with an overwhelming feeling of anger and hatred. He was normally calculating and thoughtful when fighting a human opponent, making sure to use his semblance of prediction to its upmost form, but he forgot all about that now.

Instead of waiting for the enemy to come to him, he instead yelled and dashed forward, finally engaging his first real Grimm in combat. A tinge of excitement swelled in his chest as his dagger connected with the down-swung paw of the biggest Ursa of the group, and thus, the battle began.

Having never slashed against something as heavy as an Ursa strike, Ebris flinched slightly as a jolt of pain ran through his arm. He ignored it and pressed on, pressing Sinistral further into the palm of the roaring Ursa, before slashing a few more times across it's chest with Dextral and ripping Sinistral out of the Ursa's flesh with a powerful yank, and backing away with a few acrobatic jumps, leaving the Ursa barely able to lean on its injured paw.

He didn't leave time for the others to surround him and gritted his teeth as he sped forward and, while running, combined his two daggers and extended their handles, leaving him with a double bladed spear. He stabbed straight into the middle of the second Ursas chest, keeping it at a distance as he narrowly dodged a horizontal strike from the third of the group. He kicked it across the snout and growled in growing anger.

"Come on then, you bastards!" He spat as the Ursa stumbled backwards, once again ripping his weapon out of Ursa flesh "Come and get some!"

He gasped and widened his eyes as the fourth Ursa suddenly towered behind him, but he nimbly dodged its slash, each huge claw only centimeters from slashing across his aura and sending him tumbling towards a lesser chance of actually winning against a team leader later on.

He didn't care if fighting these guys were worth the eventual injuries it might ensue, but instead focused all his strength into each slash, stab and attack, wanting these _fuckers_ dead within the next few minutes.

"Rarrgh!" he smirked as his Sinistral blade connected with the flesh in the neck, and he twisted the blade powerfully, a loud crack followed with a weird pop escaping from the bones of the Ursas neck. The Ursa in question gave a few short jolts of life, before heading towards the ground, collapsed and lifeless.

There was no blood to speak of, no entrails or anything to entail that the monster he had just killed, was indeed dead. Though as all life left the body of the Ursa, its body evaporated into a black plume of darkness, sending a jolt of satisfaction down Ebris' spine. His first kill. The edges of his lips curled up into a smirk, and he couldn't help but feel the need to laugh at the dead Ursas expense. He hadn't felt this satisfied or alive in a long time.

He couldn't celebrate his victory long however, as the remaining three Ursa immediately charged forward with enraged roars, not to avenge their fallen "comrade", but to simply kill this intruder upon their domain. Ebris smirked again and twirled his spear between his fingers, almost disappointed with the fact that he didn't get to marvel the Grimm blood that, had it been any other creature, would undoubtedly be running all over him by now, as he dashed forward to engage the remaining three Ursai.

"One down, three to go"

With another great yell and much power behind his stab, he stabbed the middle Ursa in the face as deep as he could. When he was sure the spear was properly stuck, he swung up onto its handle, and jumped behind the Ursa and onto its back, using his momentum to yank the spear of out what remained of its mauled face.

Having blinded the beast, the Ursa went into a pained panic, making it stand on its hind legs and roar in pain. He smirked and ended its suffering by jabbing his spear deep into the back of its head, soon making it tumble to the ground and dissipate as well.

Having gotten enough of the fight already, Ebris smirked and jumped in front of the final two Ursai, turning his weapon back into dagger mode, and dashing forward, giving the two creatures two quick slices across the neck. Their heads jerked to the side and hanged low, almost as if their heads had gone off their hinges, and they also soon collapsed and disappeared.

Ebris panted and gazed back at the battlefield with a self-satisfied smirk and a chuckle.

"That wasn't so bad" He chuckled, quickly sheathing Sinistral and Dextral "I didn't even get injured"

He chuckled to himself and turned away from the battlefield, before beginning to push further into the forest, not much bothered by what had just happened. His chest filled with pride and his steps reassured, he continued to push in the direction of the mountains.

* * *

Velvet frowned a little to herself and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the monitor in the front of the cabin of the dropship in which her and her teammates, Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Fox, currently resided. They were currently watching Ebris fight his way through four Ursa Grimm on his way to his selected location, one of which had already evaporated in its death.

Velvet had never seen anything like it, even with her experience as a second year student at Beacon. He was fighting with ferocity and a hatred that she had never seen before, and it honestly scared her a little bit. The first year student she had seen the other day be kind and smiling was now viciously stabbing and tearing apart any Grimm opposition that faced him. Plus, she had never even seen anyone take on four giant Ursai and live to tell the tale, at least not an ordinary student.

And he was only a first year.

This ferocity seemed to originate from a deep hatred towards these feared creatures, but even though they were the manifestation of fear and darkness, he seemed even more dark and aggressive than them, an aggressiveness that could only be described as being on the brink of madness.

Since Coco, Yatsuhashi and Fox had not seen him fight or even interacted with him before they were not as shocked, though the faces they currently displayed made them look like they were in awe of how easily he disposed of Grimm without much of a second thought.

"It doesn't make sense" Coco noted, tipping her stylish sunglasses as she gazed at Professor Oobleck, who was currently sipping on his "gasoline" as they jokingly called it "Why would our team be one of this Ebris' type's candidates? We are second years after all, and he is first year"

"I know, and that is a valid point, young Adel" Oobleck said with a small smile "A valid point that I brought up in a meeting I had with Ozpin earlier in the week"

He took another sip of his gasoline before continuing.

"The main point Ozpin wanted to emphasize, was the fact that Ebris has continued physical combat experience. Maybe not with Grimm, as the Ursa you just saw was his first Grimm kill. But he has had excessive training ever since a very young age for purposes that I feel like would be very sensitive to speak of with people he barely knows.

Let us just say that Ebris has many dark troubles behind him, Adel. Troubles that has given him vast experience and knowledge about the Grimm's behavior, and hunting style. It is certain to say that he knows certain things about Grimm that could prove very valuable to either you or the other three teams."

"Then why the hell waste his time by sending him here?" Yatsuhashi chimed in "Doesn't make sense to let him go here if he already knows everything he's supposed to know about the Grimm"

"Aside from Yatsuhashis tone," Velvet said, looking over at Yatsuhashi with a frown which was returned with a roll of his eyes "I have to agree with him. Doesn't make much sense"

"Ah, but you youngsters forget just what this school stands for" Oobleck said with a smile "It isn't only about Grimm here. Many dangers exist in this world. Please do notice that you are not only having Grimm classes here"

"But-" Fox mumbled softly.

"Plus, Ozpin believes that social interaction is good for the young man" Oobleck cut off Fox, before he could say anything "You have undoubtedly noticed the hatred and anger that Ebris is currently fighting with, yes?"

The young team looked at each other shortly, casting short unsure glances up at the monitor which currently showed Ebris walk towards the western forest border, the trees having noticeably thinned out.

"Now that you mention it, yes" Yatsuhashi said surprised "He is absolutely brutal"

"Indeed. Another byproduct of those dark troubles I mentioned" Oobleck said softly, zooming between each student now between each sentence "Do you honestly believe such an individual could fully function within a society such as Vale? Would his hatred towards the Grimm not only mean to destroy him in the end?"

Without waiting for an answer, he continued.

"That, my young friends, is what Beacon stands to prevent" He said proudly "A beacon of hope for any and all, to crush the darkness of hatred and vengeance. The huntsmen and huntresses of this prestigious academy are standing to protect people. Ozpin is seeing great potential in this young man, and I intent to trust Ozpin in his decision. If he ends up joining your team, he will be moved forward a year."

The team fell silent.

"So Ebris is strong and experienced enough for a second year team huh?" Coco smirked silently in amusement, looking up at the monitor over her glasses "I'll look forward to fighting him then"

Velvet sighed and gazed out the window, the wild canopy of Emerald Forest and the surrounding western mountains stretching out below the carrier they were boarding. The mountains would be the place they would be dropped off. Considering that Ebris was headed west on the monitor, she didn't doubt that they would fight eventually.

She was looking forward to getting to know Ebris further, and see him fight in real combat. She wasn't sure if he was a match for Coco's heavy artillery, but she did know this would be one heck of a fight.

She had come to develop a certain feeling of respect for Ebris after he saved her from Cardin and his goons. Not everyone had the courage to stand up to a whole group of bullies, neither did that many people care about the faunus' to begin with.

But this darker side of Ebris that she had never seen before scared her, if not petrified her. Up until the initiation, Velvet had looked forward to see Ebris fight, but as things turned out now, it seemed that it was better if he never even entered a battlefield at all. He didn't seem entirely capable of keeping his cool and his wits about him in battle, and that always came with consequenses.

They would have to work with that if he joined their time.

Velvet blushed a little and looked around at her teammates when a sudden realization hit her. She was deeply hoping for Ebris to join the team. She was frightened by his newfound aggressive fighting style, but at the same time intrigued, and fully set on helping Ebris with whatever issues he might have been dealing with.

She of all people knew of personal pain after all. She wanted to relieve another unfortunate soul of the same kind of pain.

"Hmm…"

She hummed silently to herself, pinching her chin in wonder.

'But how?'


	5. Chapter 5 - This Is Only The Beginning

RWBY

The Strength of Revenge

Chapter 5 - Volume 1 - This Is Only The Beginning

As team JNPR stepped off the dropship and out into the beautiful landscape of the lakeside view, Pyrrha couldn't help but send a worried look over at Jaune, who seemed more shocked into silence than anything.

"What… the hell… was that?" he asked, looking at the rest of team JNPR with a look of complete bafflement "Hopefully you guys saw the same thing as I did, or I have gone completely crazy"

"We all saw him, Jaune" Ren said in his usual calm demeanor "That is not the same man that rescued Velvet last week"

Even Nora, Ren's usually bombastic and energetic partner, looked solemn and unsure of herself as she followed her teammates out of the plane.

"I know. Something is completely wrong here" She mumbled, suddenly widening her eyes as an idea popped into her head "Oh I know! We should bake him pancakes! That always cheers me up!"

Ren sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Nora, pancakes doesn't solve every problem in the world"

Nora, looking quite offended, shot a finger at Ren as if he had just committed humanity's worst crime. She stomped up to him and puffed out her cheeks in playful fake anger.

"You take that back, you heathen!"

Jaune couldn't help but chuckle before he clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Guys, we don't have time for this" He said, a bit impatient "We need to get ready in case he actually decides to come here"

Ren nodded silently as he took out his two SMG's and began looking them over, doing a last minute check and cleaning.

"It's highly unlikely, seeing his weapons" Pyrrha wondered as she sat down beside Ren and followed suit "He has two daggers that can be combined into a spear. When not fighting Grimm, he seems to wait for attacks rather than initiate them, if Velvet's information has any legitimacy to it"

"Why wouldn't it, it's Velvet we're talking about" Jaune said, having brought out his sword and shield for a few quick practice swings and attacks "She wouldn't lie… "

"My point is, that he wouldn't want to go to such an open place as this one, if he knows what he's doing" Pyrrha mumbled.

"Now that we're talking about Velvet, did you guys notice the way she was looking at Ebris when he saved her a week ago?" Nora asked with a happy smirk, completely disregarding the worry that loomed over the rest of the group "She was practically drooling all over him!"

"Nora I think you might be exaggerating a little bit" Ren said, pulling out the ammo clips for his Stormflowers before looking up at Nora.

"Are you kidding?" Nora asked, the grin never leaving her face as she swung left and right with her upper body in a playful way "She couldn't take her eyes off him!"

"Even if that's the case, we shouldn't intervene" Pyrrha said with a small curled smile "Such things are for Velvet and Ebris to figure out"

"Aww, not even a little spying!?" Nora said with a pout "I even have perfect outfits! We'll remake Mission Impossible right in our own dorm"

"Personally, I think you're too full of hot air" Ren said with a smile of his own "Though I don't doubt you'll team up with Yang the moment you come back from this"

"Nope! The operation is commencing with or without you guys" Nora said with a hearty laughter "So unless you want to be completely left out on things, you'd better make a decision soon"

"This is gonna be another one of those "Top secret missions" isn't it?" Ren said, doing air quotations with his fingers.

"Yup" Nora immediately said.

"I always DID want to become a spy if this huntsmen thing failed" Jaune said wonderingly as he pinched his chin thoughtfully.

"And even if this "Mission" of theirs fails, I'm sure Yang will try to interfere from the sidelines" Pyrrha said with a chuckle, swinging her sword and slicing the air powerfully "Once she sets her sights on something, she doesn't let go"

Jaune couldn't help but worry though. What the hell was the source of that anger they had seen on the dropship?

What could compel a person to feel such disgust towards something, even if it was Grimm? He hated the Grimm as much as any other person, but never had he seen such violent viciousness being unfurled upon a creature.

He was fighting four Ursai, and it looked more like they were the prey in this case.

He had never seen an Ursa cower in fear.

* * *

The dropship finally began to descend after what seemed like forever and the great hum and gusts of wind from the planes motors slowly began to die down as they landed on the ground. Velvet's boots crunched the gravel and stone underneath her as she, along with her teammates, began to survey the area and find certain hotspots where they could hide and provide recognizance if needed, just in case if a Grimm was as stupid as to attack them.

Coco looked around her carefully, having her rotary cannon, the Peacemaker, at the ready in case a bunch of Grimm decided to ambush them, letting it hang in her belt in purse form. Velvet wasn't worried about an attack though. There wasn't much in the surrounding forest that they hadn't encountered and dealt with before. And it wasn't likely that a Deathstalker or a Nevermore would attack them unless disturbed.

After having surveyed the area, the team began holding their strategy meeting, but not one of them managed to voice their opinion, before a rumbling noise began closing in on them. They were most surprised by what they saw next.

Ebris yelled and smirked, a few cliffs and rocks exploding in his path as he rode into the scene on a freaking Beowolf! He laughed and hooted, apparently having a grand old time as he kept stabbing the poor creature in the bum to make it run faster.

"Come on, little wolfy!" he laughed, enjoying every second of the ride "This little wolf doesn't have that much huff and puff, huh!?"

The Beowolf howled and jumped around in circles, which in turn only made Ebris laugh louder, and the four members on team CWVY stared in what seemed to be a mix of shock and "Are you fucking kidding me?"

He rode the Beowolf like a bullrider, throwing around an imaginary cowboy hat as he kept hooting. Eventually the fun grew tiring, and he eventually ended it by stabbing through the Beowolf's neck, ending the creature's misery, seemingly getting some sort of sadistic fun out of torturing the poor creature.

"Damn that was fun" He laughed to himself but fell silent as he noticed the entirety of team CFVY was standing there, starring at him.

"Okaaay, this kind of got awkward real fast"

"You don't say?" Coco mumbled, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, looking back at her teammates "You guys sure about this?"

"It's not like we can do anything about it now" Yatsuhashi mumbled, cracking his knuckles out of habit and smiling to himself "Though I like his energy."

Fox rolled his eyes and looked up at his leader, giving her a thumbs up.

"Kick his ass, cap" He chuckled.

Ebris puffed out a cheek in a childish pout, bringing out Sinistral and Dextral.

"You guys are underestimating my abilities" He said confidently, twirling his daggers playfully "I don't know how much you heard from Velvet, but I'm damn fast"

Velvet blushed a little at the mention of her name. Her friends, including the rest of her team, had almost forced her to tell where she went after class a week ago. So after she told them she had gone to check up on what Yang called "The new hunk", or Ebris as Velvet just wanted to call him, she was exposed to much teasing and poking fun at her behalf. She usually sticks close to her friends, so the fact that she was nowhere to be seen after class one day stuck out to everyone like a sore thumb.

"Yeah, Velvet has been telling us all about you" Coco said with a teaseful smirk, looking back over her shoulder at Velvet, who looked like she wanted to hide away "Though I'd be lying if I said we didn't spy on you a little before this"

"What do you mean exactly?" Ebris said, a frown beginning to deepen on his brow.

"Don't tell me you forgot about the cameras around the forest?" She asked, pointing up at a random tree, in which, sure enough, a camera was solidly planted "We watched your progress on the dropship on our way here. You have some serious skills"

"Why thank you madam, may I have another?" Ebris said with a playful chuckle "You haven't seen half of what I'm capable of"

Coco rolled her eyes. She had seen plenty of boasters in her time, even before arriving at Beacon. She was more than used to an opponent bluffing about his skills in order to buy time and maybe save his aura a little longer. Though she had seen what he was capable of. More than she wanted to admit.

"I'll just go ahead and say that's a bluff" She smirked, pushing her glasses back in place on her nose "You ready, squirt?"

"More than ready. Bring it on!"

Having gone through the forest and pretty much exterminated every Grimm in his path had boosted his confidence, leaving no trace of nervousness behind. He was convinced that if he could kill four Ursai Grimm without as much as a scratch, he could also beat this girl and whatever weapons she might have at her disposal.

"Hey, now that I think about it, where is your weapon?" He asked, curious as to just what kind of weapon Coco would use.

Coco smirked and cocked an eyebrow, holding up her small brown purse.

"Why it's right here, friend"

He couldn't help but look at Coco as if she was completely insane. This was rather odd compared to something like Ruby's scythe, Cardin's mace or Yang's shotgun gauntlets. He looked at Velvet, asking her if her leader had completely lost her mind with his gaze. Velvet just shrugged and smiled, crossing her arms over her chest in knowing confidence.

"Uh… Not to burst your bubble or anything, but that's a handbag" Ebris mumbled, pointing at the tiny bag with a look of dismay.

"Indeed it is. You're sharp today huh?" Coco smirked, putting the purse down onto the ground "Wanna know what it does?"

"Please do enlighten me" Ebris said with a cocky attitude.

That cockiness soon disappeared though. With a mechanical whirling sound, the top of the bag suddenly popped open and retracted, before several mechanical gears and cranks could be seen beneath the exterior. Ebris' jaw slowly hit the floor as the nifty little handbag had suddenly turned into a huge minigun, by his estimates probably sporting thousands of bullets with a single magazine.

"It's also a gun" Coco smirked, taking hold of the mechanical giant's handle and heaving it up into her grip "Say hello to the Peacemaker!"

Ebris was completely stunned into silence. He had heard about students having weapons that could turn into guns, but he had never seen a weapon in this size. Just the fact that it was a handbag not five seconds earlier, made him question whether or not he had gone insane.

"That's… a big gun" He finally muttered, shaking his head a bit from side to side to shake himself out of his trance "Whatever. It's gotta be tough lugging that thing around. If I just keep up my pace, I should be good to go"

A frown reappeared on Ebris features as he and Coco went into fighting stance. So she was a bit more of an adversary than he had expected. Big deal. He would still win.

He held up his daggers in a defensive position and smiled, gazing into Coco's shades.

"Ready when you are, cream puff" He smirked, making something click in Coco's mind with his taunt.

She frowned and immediately opened fire, Ebris doing an elegant jump as he evaded her salvage. Coco growled a little in irritation as she tried to keep up with him. He was fast, incredibly so. That was her one weakness. Whenever someone faster than her fought her, she would normally rely on her teammates for backup. But she didn't have them on her side now.

She growled and packed away her minigun, returning it to her purse and allowing her to move faster, before beginning to run after Ebris. He had fled into the woods, probably to take cover somewhere.

Ebris' heart hammered away as he hid behind a thick tree, trying to gather his surroundings. He had been terribly close to becoming Ebris Swiss cheese. Had he not dodged, he might as well have been.

He took a quick look at his scroll, telling him that he had managed to escape without injury.

"Phew" He mumbled relieved.

"Hey there"

He looked up at the voice but didn't even manage a word before Coco's handbag connected to his jaw, sending him flying and rolling on the ground. He rubbed his jaw and groaned as he stood back up, glaring back at Coco who was now standing several tens of feet away.

"Damn that hurt" He mumbled "That still felt as heavy as a minigun to me"

"That's right" Coco smirked slightly, gazing down at her gloves which were glowing mysteriously "Whenever it's in handbag form, it's light as a feather for me. Basically a very heavy weapon in disguise"

"That explains my sore jaw" Ebris groaned, looking down at his scroll and frowning at what he saw.

Coco had managed to knock off close to 10 percent of his aura with just a single blow. His aura hadn't even been able to protect him completely from the blow, hence his aching jaw just now.

"You should be careful with that" He laughed, putting his scroll back in his pocket as he took another defensive stance "You might just hurt someone"

"I think you should worry more about yourself, Eacho" She smirked, striding towards him confidently "I might not be as fast as you, but I'll hit you again if you come close"

"Then I'll just hit you from afar!" he smirked and loaded the barrels of his guns, before quickly sending a barrage of bullets in Coco's reaction. She managed to block the bullets in her path, but once she looked around her, Ebris was suddenly gone. She brought out her minigun in preparation, before a sudden strike to her back pushed her off balance. Then another to the front, and one to each side.

Each strike made her stumble, and she growled as she stomped her foot into the ground, regaining her footing.

"How are you so fast!?" She said angrily "You don't have that sort of semblance!"

Ebris reappeared in front of her and she frowned as she sprinted forward, swinging her purse at him with all her might. He crossed his weapons in front of him in a block, making their weapons clash in a lock.

"You don't train since the age of 6 without picking up a few skills" he smirked, pressing onto their class with all of his weight "I tend to focus on speed whenever I'm training"

His larger frame and heavier body mass made it difficult for Coco to push him off, and her lock didn't hold. Ebris broke her hold and smirked as he slashed at her aura, sending her stumbling backwards before a hard kick send her sprawling on the ground.

She used the falls momentum to roll backwards and back on her feet, going back to her minigun form before sending another salvage at the approaching Ebris. He widened his eyes and dodged left and right, a stray bullet damaging his aura quickly now and then.

"Damn!" He growled and parried, dodged and parried again, growing more and more desperate. Despite his best efforts Coco's bullets just fired at too fast of a rate. He couldn't manage to parry or dodge every bullet, and he could soon feel how his aura drained from him, leaving him more and more tired.

Coco smirked and stopped the assault for a moment to look Ebris over. This might have been a fight to see who was strongest, but she still didn't want to leave him so tired he couldn't defend himself in case they were attacked by the Grimm of the forest. She ran forward and made Peacemaker go back to purse form , before she jumped and tried to kick him in the chest to make him fall.

He smirked and kicked at her outstretched leg, sending her off course in midair and taking her by surprise. He slashed and kicked, keeping her flying as he sent her aura plummeting. Finally he kicked her into the ground, making dust particles fly everywhere.

He panted and flinched, the pain beginning to run through his body. Straining his body like that, combined with Coco's relentless assault, had left him exhausted. With a grown he collapsed to his knees, Sinistral and Dextral falling to the ground with a clang.

"Damn… My god, everything hurts" He whimpered, falling on his back as he panted deeply.

"Hehehe… Hahahaha…"

An exhausted laugh escaped Coco as she laid sprawled on the ground, her shades lying a few feet away from her, and her clothes dusty and stained. She had lost. The blaring red line left of her aura on her scroll confirmed it.

Velvet, Yatsuhashi and Fox approached, Yatsuhashi lifting Coco into his arms, and Velvet and Fox helping Ebris back to his feet, barely even conscious at this point. It seemed that both Ebris and Coco had exhausted their auras, leaving them both barely able to move without assistance, but with Ebris having about 5 % more left than Coco, leaving him the winner of the brawl.

"I hate to admit it Eacho, but you win" Coco whispered out, currently being carried bridal style by Yatsuhashi "Welcome to team CFVY… and I'll kill you for this later, Yatsuhashi"

Yatsuhashi laughed coyly and smirked down at his exhausted team leader.

"I don't get to see you like this very often, cap" He laughed, Coco pouting slightly "I'll take any punishment you might have for me if I just get to enjoy this"

Coco groaned in annoyance and even Ebris could tell how she was rolling her eyes behind her shades, who were now back in their proper place. Velvet and Fox each had one of his arms slung around their shoulders, helping each other carry him over to the nearby dropship.

* * *

"Interesting turn things have taken, isn't it, Ironwood?" Ozpin said, having watched the whole thing from his position at the cliff where it had all begun.

Standing beside Ozpin rather than being on a monitor this time, general Ironwood frowned and nodded softly as he gazed down at the security monitor Ozpin was currently holding between his hands, showing team CFVY carry their leader and newest team member back to the dropship.

"Indeed, though I am still unsure whether this was for the best or not" Ironwood hummed, scratching his chin in thought "I want project Tenebris to be a success, Ozpin. It could mean life and death for many"

"I know" Ozpin nodded, knowing full well the importance behind that project "But they're as much as a human as they are a project. They have their own emotions and feelings as well. We'll have to consider their mental wellbeing in this whole predicament as well"

"I know. I just want to see results" Ironwood sighed in slight frustration before making a quick salute "I'm afraid I have to go now. Tell Ebris I said hi, and that I'm impressed"

Ozpin nodded as Ironwood left his side.

"I will. Good luck, Ironwood"

The sound of Ironwood's boots against the ground soon disappeared, leaving only Ozpin and Glynda to oversee the young students' return to the cliffside.

"I am impressed so far, Ozpin" Glynda said, having crossed her arms over her chest in a worried fashion "But I am still very much worried about their mental state"

"I know Glynda" Ozpin agreed, taking a sip of his mug "This is why they're here in the first place. To have a place to call their own. That can only help them with whatever they're dealing with"

Ozpin turned on his heel, and walked back towards their own dropship, Glynda following close after. This was only the beginning. Ozpin, Glynda, and even Ebris, knew this as a fact. And as Ebris was laid down and taken care of in his dropship by his new team members, he couldn't help but let a smile run across his face.

 **A/N**

 **Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading another chapter of The Strength Of Revenge!**

 **Please do leave a review with constructive criticism, telling me what I can do better with my writing, etc.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, cause it's honestly been nothing but a joy to write this story so far. I might have to cut down a little on productivity in the future, because you know, school. But I promise both this and After The Incident will get updates. I haven't abandoned that story.**

 **See you guys next time!**


	6. Chapter 6 - The Day of Thereafter

_RWBY_

 _The Strength Of Revenge_

 _Chapter 6 - Volume 1 - The Day of Thereafter_

It was the following day, and Ebris had never been this proud. Today was the day he would officially be initiated, and he was excited. Not only so he could rub his victory in Cardin's face, but also so that he could finally tell that he had progressed. This was another step towards his ultimate goal.

"Mr. Eacho, please step forward"

Ebris stepped forward on the podium, a strong feeling of pride filling his chest as he stepped up to the headmaster. The entire school had come to watch him get initiated, and his team was standing behind him, proud smiles and happy faces being all apparent from them. Though one thing that Ebris had noticed, was that Velvet refused to look him in the eye whenever he looked back at his team.

Disregarding this fact with a shake of his head, he smiled and puffed out his chest in pride.

He had made it. He had fought Coco and won, if only barely. It had been a massive accomplishment, one that hadn't been seen too often at a place such as Beacon. Someone who had just started managed to beat a Grimm experienced second year student, an accomplishment that was not too common. Some people were more excited than others.

Team RWBY and JNPR were standing in the crowd and cheering for Ebris, while the entirety of Team CRDL had refused to even participate in the ceremony at all.

Ebris stepped up to Ozpin and smiled as the headmaster continued.

"You have proven excellence in battle exceeding what most initiates can bring to Beacon" He said, a smile playing on his lips "While you have not had to deal with as big Grimm as the other teams here, you have still proved that you are not simply to be trifled with"

The feeling of pride grew in Ebris' chest as the headmaster continued.

"Therefore, I think it is only appropriate to put you in a team that matches your skill" Ozpin smiled and waved the rest of the team over "From today on, you are no longer known as Team CVFY. From today on, you are Team CVFEY, the first five man team in several decades. I congratulate you for your efforts, and wish you the best of luck with your new team, and your now three years in Beacon"

With this, he turned to the crowd.

"Now, as for the rest of you, I expect you all to treat Ebris with the same respect and friendship that I've seen quickly develop over the first few weeks here. Ebris being allowed scholarship here on special conditions do not render him victim to any different treatment from any of you. Treat him as the same friend as you do any other classmate or student, and no issues will be present."

A few students among the crowd nodded and clapped at the closing of Ozpin's speech, before the headmaster dismissed the crowd and let them go to each their own dorms and activities. Ebris was soon approached by his team, as well as Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch.

"Alright Mr. Eacho, I think it is appropriate to show you to your dorm room" Glynda said with what hinted at a smile on her features.

"Let me tell you Ebris, the second year dorms are nothing like the first year room you slept in until now" Fox said with a smirk "It's more like a two room apartment, albeit very small rooms"

"That sounds good" Ebris said with a quiet smile.

Ebris was a pretty simple guy when it came to his every day habits and sleep patterns. If there was plenty of space, he was happy. And as long as there was food in the fridge, and drink in the cupboards, there was no reason to panic. There was not a lot of space in the first year dorms, so hearing that there was more space to come would only serve as an excessive pleasure for him.

As for sleep, whenever he could, he would sleep. He was happiest when he could get his eight hours, but sadly that had not been too often lately with the continuous nightmares and his burning scar. He hoped that what happened today would serve as a happy memory to lull him into peaceful slumber tonight.

Though something was still bugging him in the back of his mind. Velvet's behavior had been strange ever since he had talked to her before the initiation last week. She had been avoiding him in some way. Not physically, since he had been together with the team since yesterday, besides when he slept, but she seemed evasive whenever he addressed her. Wouldn't look him in the eye, and always answered his questions very quietly.

He assumed that this was because of her shy nature, but something was just off. He couldn't tell what though.

As the team moved through the halls up to their dorm, Velvet stayed behind the rest of them, thoughts clouding her mind. So he really did join their team after all. She gazed in Ebris' direction as they walked. For some reason she still had a hard time believing he had managed to beat Coco and get permission to join their team, even though it was more than 12 hours ago.

But he was right there with them, rather than on the first plane away from the academy. She could reach forward and touch him if she wanted, which she of course refused to, having only spoken to him on two earlier occasions.

And they were going to share their dorm rooms for the next 3 years! They would see each other all the time, they would-!

Wait, why had she begun to think about him so obsessively? She shook her head, her bunny ears flapping to and fro in the process. She had been thinking an awful lot about him lately, and she was confused as to why. Something about him just intrigued her.

"We might have to make some bunk bed arrangements now" Fox said with a small grin "Like I said, we have two rooms, but they both have trouble containing two beds as it is"

Ebris nodded and smiled as the team walked through the hall that held their doom rooms.

"I take it girls have one room, guys the other?" He asked, getting nods from the guys and an embarrassed blush and a sly smirk from Velvet and Coco respectively.

"Damn straight" She said with a chuckle, her eyes mischievous behind her shades "What, did you think you'd get to share me and Velvet over here?"

This only made Velvet explode even deeper red from embarrassment, and hide behind Yatsuhashi, him being the largest of the group, making the rest of the group burst out loud with laughter.

'Seriously Coco, that was so inappropriate!'

Fox smirked.

"Yeah, the dorms might be coed, but nothing kinky like that going on"

Ebris punched his arm in embarrassment and they all laughed as they walked through the halls.

Stepping into the dorm room, Ebris realized that the room was completely dark. None of them could see much besides Velvet with her enhanced night vision. And she and CF_Y were fully aware what was happening.

Suddenly the light turned on and an explosion of sounds came from every direction. Team RWBY and JNPR suddenly leapt out at them, banners and confetti flew everywhere, bass music was suddenly playing at them from huge bass boosters in the back of the room, and everyone flooded towards him.

CFV_Y walked over to join the rest of their friends and gathered a breath before shouting.

"SURPRISE! CONGRATULATIONS EBRIS!"

He looked around in complete astonishment.

"The hell is all this?" He mumbled in wonder as the many people began to guide him inside.

"What does it look like, you dunce!?" Yang laughed as she patted him on the back "It's a surprise party!"

Weiss and Blake was standing a little off to the side as the rest of team RWBY and JNPR surrounded Ebris with hugs.

"It was my idea! Totally my idea! Mine alone!" Ruby yelled with laughter mixed between each stop "This is to congratulate you on getting into Beacon!"

"Why am I special?" He asked, confused but of course pleasantly surprised.

"Dude, do you realize what you did?" Jaune said with a smirk "You're the first initiate to have managed to enter Beacon this way in well over 20 years! How is that not amazing!?"

Ebris didn't like how he couldn't manage to keep his blush from going past both of his ears.

"Still, no reason to throw a surprise party like this" He mumbled, scratching his neck in embarrassment "I mean, I'm not the only one who did this in the history of Beacon"

"But still, it's an awesome way to get to know our new teammate" Coco said with a smirk as she pushed him further inside "Come on, we have all sorts of things prepared"

At the mention of "Things", Yang immediately lit up and bound over to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of a certain liquid. Ebris' felt a tingle of worry run through him as he saw what it was.

Somehow, Yang had got her hands on a bottle of Atlesian Fireball whisky.

"A-Are you really sure we should be drinking?" Velvet mumbled nervously, clenching her hands to her chest "I-I mean, we're all still underage"

"Meh, who cares?" Yang winked at her and nodded at Ruby, who immediately began gathering some glasses "It's weekend tomorrow, and I'm sure everyone has done their homework, riiiight?"

She gazed suspiciously around the circle, and Ebris noticed how Ruby and Jaune both began fidgeting nervously, Ren took a glance over at Nora who just shrugged and smirked, making Ren roll his eyes. Weiss rolled her eyes as well, but for a completely different reason.

"Yang, you do realise you're talking to me, right?" Weiss smiled in satisfaction "I got it done the day we got it"

"Of course you did" Yang laughed softly.

"Are you sure that's gonna be enough?"Jaune commented, pointing at the bottle of Fireball "Not to burst your bubble, but one bottle isn't much for thirteen people"

"Oh don't you worry" Yang smirked before turning around and showing the fridge's contents, filled to the brim with all sorts of alcohol "I've been... Let's say, collecting, over the last few weeks"

Ren sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. This was gonna get real crazy, real fast.

"Collecting, indeed"

Velvet was still nervous, but looked up in surprise as Ebris patted her head with a smile.

"It's gonna be fine" He reassured her "Not much of a drinker myself, but I can at least tell where my limit lies. I'll look out for you, okay?"

Velvet gazed away with a smile and nodded shyly at his promise.

"We all will of course" Ren said softly "We look out for each other"

This made Velvet nod softly and smile again before looking over at Yang and giving up with a sigh.

"Okay fine. One sip"

"Ohh boy, you got a lot to learn" Yang smirked and patted the fridge proudly "It never ends at just one sip"

After each individual had gotten a drink or a bottle out of the fridge, some examples being wine, beer, and other alcohol, they all sat down in chairs and the beds pushed off to the side, basically anywhere they could take a seat, and gathered together. Ebris sighed and scratched his neck, looking around at the group.

"So, you want to know more about me, huh?" he asked, earning many nods in return.

He didn't always feel like talking about his past, but he still cracked a smile and looked up at them mischievously.

"You're not trying to make me reveal all my combat tricks, are you?"

Some seemed playfully offended and Ruby laughed.

"No! We just want to know more about you"

"Well, if you insist"

He shrugged and got into a more comfortable position on the floor before he began, noticing how some, specifically Velvet, Ruby and Nora, leaned in in curiosity.

"Well, basics first right?" He smiled "The name is Ebris Eacho. I'm 18. As much as I hate to say it, I easily anger whenever I'm provoked, as you guys saw last week with Velvet and Cardin"

C_F_Y sent knowing looks over at Velvet, who blushed under their gazes and looked away as Ebris continued.

"I was born in a village called Kinestro on Patch" Ebris said.

Ruby and Yang lid up at this, everyone else's faces fell a little. Yang, Ruby and Ebris were roughly the same age, maybe 2 or 3 years apart, so maybe they had been childhood friends? Did the others actually know what had happened at Kinestro?

"Ruby and Yang are also from Patch!" Nora said with a smirk clapping her hands in excitement.

"Oh? Well in that case, you know that a lot of beowolves live there, am I right?"

This question was directed at Yang and Ruby, and they both nodded with grim expressions.

"Damn straight" Yang mumbled "Why do you bring that up?"

"Well you see," Ebris took a swig of his whiskey, flinching slightly at the fire-like feeling of his throat burning "My village back then was overrun with Grimm. Specifically beowolves and a lot of Ursai"

Grim expressions all around. Not that Ebris was surprised.

"Whatever, it's not too bad" He mumbled, taking another swig of whisky and earning a grunt of annoyance from Blake, who had been silent until now.

"You do know you're talking about one of the worst Grimm attacks in Patch's history right?" She said with a frown, being both annoyed and surprised at Ebris' gallant way to sweep the story underneath the rug.

"So what?" Ebris said a little annoyed "I was like, four when it happened. I barely remember my parents', not even my sister's face anymore. I didn't lose much"

"But other people did" Blake insisted, sitting closer to the group "The village might not have been big, but families still perished, and lost their loved ones. How can you just brush it off like that?"

Ren and Nora looked over at each other knowingly, but Ebris didn't notice as he looked up at Blake with a frown.

"because I've spent the last ten years trying to forget about it" Ebris said with a sigh "It's not something I want to think about more than necessary"

He turned back to the group and frowned as he took another sip of the Fireball whiskey, which had now begun to feel more like a nice warm feeling rather than a burn of his throat. The alcohol had already begun to take its effect, and Ebris no longer felt like holding back.

"This is also the reason I've come here in the first place. I've come here to become strong. I've come here to learn how to destroy the Grimm, and to do that, I need to become stronger. I can't become strong if I keep reminiscing on the past"

He took hold of his bottle and brought it back up to his lips, but a hesitant phrase from Velvet made him stop, stunned in his tracks.

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing though?" Velvet asked hesitantly "I mean, you want to take revenge. That isn't exactly forgetting about your past is it?"

"Velvet's got a good point" Yatsuhashi mumbled, looking over at Ebris with a concerned frown "You wanting to destroy the Grimm is a result of a certain bitterness and hatred towards the species. This all stems from your past, so going this path you're doing is not to forget. It is only to rip up old scars"

Ebris frowned and sighed. Maybe they were right.

"Look, can we just forget about this for now?" He asked, looking up at the group uncertainly "I have a lot on my mind. I need to find out what it is I want, and going to Beacon is a good starting point."

They each nodded in turn and let the topic drop. They had come here to celebrate Ebris' victory, not to ruin it with dark stories about the past.

"So, you got any hobbies, Ebris?" Coco asked curiously, expertly maneuvering the topic away from what had happened in Ebris' childhood.

"Oh yeah, whenever I have time, I usually play games or surf on the internet" Ebris nodded, a smile returning to his lips "Before I came here, I lived with a surrogate family."

Ruby smirked and pointed a challenging finger at Ebris.

"Favorite game genre!?"

"MMORPG!"

"Favorite class!?"

"Gunslinger or Swordmaster!"

"Noobs should be!?"

"Eradicated and looted!"

Ruby had a dreamy look in her eyes as she sat back down from her excited pose sitting on all fours, and let out a sigh.

"I might have finally found the ultimate gaming partner!"

"Aww, I think my little sister is in love!" Yang laughed as Ruby leaned over and pretended to barf all over her.

Velvet's heart stung a little at Yang's words, but she quietly dismissed it.

Ebris looked out at the scene. How Ren and Jaune were helplessly trying to hold Nora back from pouncing on him to "protect Ruby's innocence" as Nora put it, over to Yatsuhashi, Fox and Coco who were all laughing their asses off at Nora's antics, Yang having put Ruby into a headlock, making her gasp for air, and Blake, Weiss and Pyrrha standing a bit away, with Weiss rolling her eyes in annoyance and the two others with small smiles on their faces.

This crazy would soon become the new normal for him. With crazy friends, and a crazy lifestyle, who knew what could possibly happen?

Ebris gaze finally fell on Velvet, and their gazes locked for a moment, before Velvet blushes and looked away. What was with her?

Since classes would only start after the weekends, Ebris made up his mind as to figure out just what was up with Velvet. He felt like they had spoken well enough on their previous occasions, but now she barely talked to him, even if he addressed her.

He was now fully determined to figure things out with Velvet, and just exactly where they stood with one another. No way in hell he would make splits in his new team now, one day after having officially become a CFVEY.

Crazy, indeed.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!**

 **I actually have a proposition for you guys to consider.**

 **Having a lot of different stories that i haven't finished (yet) i wanted to know if any of you are interested in becoming a cowriter with me!**

 **It was my plan to have someone with more time than me, help me write my stories.**

 **If you guys are interested, send me a PM! I'll look forward to hearing from you!**

 **DD out!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Walking on Thin Ice

_RWBY_

 _The Strength Of Revenge_

 _Chapter 7 - Volume 1 - Walking on Thin Ice_

Having now partied for about an hour and promptly ignored their fellow dorm members' plea for peace and quiet from the rooms next to their own, they had finally managed to break the awkward silence the earlier conversation had brought upon them. Ebris, being certain that he had had enough of Fireball for now, kept pushing Yang away with stumbling motion as she kept offering him another swig with a smirk.

"Hmph, softy!" She laughed taking a swig for herself.

"Well, it's not like I drink that often" Ebris pouted, his drunken state having brought out some of his hidden playfulness "From the way you're drinking, I'd almost say you're used to it"

"City life is my kinda life, boy!" She smirked and patted his shoulder "We need to do something about that lightweight of yours"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's taken at least ten sips now" Ren mumbled in idle neutralization "I think we're way past lightweight"

"Plus, even the oldest of us are minors" Pyrrha said with an infatuated giggle.

"Man, you're all pansies" Yang laughed, earning looks from some of the others that were slightly hard to judge due to her alcohol-induced state "Come on, let's play a game!"

"Knowing you Yang, that cannot be good" Ruby said with a less than amused expression.

Ruby knew it all too well. If Yang suggested to play a game, it could only be to feed her obsession and need to embarrass everyone. Ruby was often a target for this, so she promptly considered to use her Speed to flee the scene and hide under her bedsheets in her own dorm room.

"You know me too well, my dear sister" Yang smirked and finished off the Fireball, leaving them with an empty bottle "Let's play spin the bottle"

Everyone fell very quiet, and Ebris noticed that even despite the loud music, that the silence between them seemed to stand out.

"What kind? If you dare to suggest what I think you are…" he said warningly, narrowing his eyes at the blonde.

She smirked and jabbed his rib with an elbow.

"What makes you think that?"

Something about her mischievous smirk made an unnerving feeling run down Ebris' spine.

"No it's not that. It's a truth or dare kind of thing" Yang said softly, explaining the rules "We each take turns spinning the bottle, and whoever it lands on has to answer a truth or dare. You get exactly one pass"

Ebris noticed how Nora was practically beaming, barely even able to sit still while Ren was rubbing the bridge of his nose with a look of defeat. Pyrrha and Jaune just seemed extremely nervous, while Coco, Yatsuhashi and Fox seemed to be more than ready to begin.

"Oh ho, you are in for the time of your life, Ebris" Coco smirked over at him "We had a lot of fun with this in our first year"

'I can only imagine' Ebris thought to himself.

He sighed a little and looked around. Most of his team, besides Velvet who looked like she wanted to hide in a hole somewhere, seemed excited about getting to play this with him. He had a funny feeling that most of the people here would go after "The new guy", and he would most likely be tortured with all sorts of dumb requests.

But for some reason, whether it was the alcohol or his newfound intoxicated confidence, but he felt compelled to comply, and play with the lot of them. Who knows, maybe it would help them get even closer than before.

An idea suddenly sprung to mind. He smirked as he looked over at Velvet, who locked eyes with him for a moment before blushing and quickly looking away.

Yang laid down the bottle as everyone gathered around, though some individuals were noticeably absent. Namely Blake, Weiss, Ren and Ruby.

"Come on guys, get over here already!" Nora said impatiently.

"Uhh, can't we just talk instead?" Ruby tried silently.

"Y-Yeah, this doesn't seem like a good idea" Blake was oozing with nervousness.

Ebris found this odd. He had had the impression that Blake was always the cool silent type. The one who always had her wits about her, and could focus and be calm no matter the situation. Guess not.

"I have to agree with Blake" Weiss said stoically as she turned her nose to the heavens "This is way too risky. Knowing Yang, she'll make us trudge around in our underwear or something"

"Hey, don't give her good ideas" Ruby pleaded "Besides, wouldn't want the boys in here to get any ideas either"

Ren and Jaune both blushed slightly and fell silent from this, while Ebris just smirked. Coco looked at him questioningly.

"What, you're not gonna blush and hide like an embarrassed school girl?" She asked playfully.

"Nope" He chuckled and looked over at Yang with a dangerous smirk "Thank you miss Schnee for that wonderful idea."

Weiss gulped in realization. She had, without thinking, sent Ebris on the prowl.

"I'm not like the other guys here" Ebris smirked "I am a pervert full and through. Those pansies just doesn't want to admit they have that side to them too"

"My Ren is a pure boy!" Nora Objected as she practically glued herself to Ren's side "Tell them Ren!"

"Guys are we playing or what!?" Yang groaned.

After a few minutes of arguing over the rules, Yang groaned in annoyance and hit the ground in a hissy fit.

"Okay, fine! Here's the rules! One pass, nothing too insane or gross. We take turns spinning, and whoever it lands on does a truth or dare. If they fail to comply after having used their pass, they need to take a deep sip of this!"

She brandished another bottle, and everyone in the room groaned in disgust, well besides Ebris and Velvet.

"What is that?" Velvet asked curiously, her, Weiss, Blake and Ren having been talked into playing after all.

"It's one of the worst Atlesian whiskies" Yang smirked "Tastes like crap, but it perfects its purpose"

"Which is…?" Ebris inquired.

"Getting you hammered of course" Yang laughed "Alright Ebris, since you're new, we'll go easy on you in the first round and let you start"

Ebris narrowed his eyes at Yang suspiciously as he accepted the bottle from her, placed it on the floor, and spun it with all his might. He didn't really care for who it landed on, since it was only the first round and he didn't want to go too far so early in the game.

The bottle eventually inched closer and closer to a full stop, and to her big amusement, it landed on Nora.

"Pick dare. I dare you" Ebris said.

Nora smirked challengingly at Ebris, who smirked back at her just as wholeheartedly.

"Fine then! Dare!"

Ebris smirked. She had taken the bait.

"I dare you to tell us one of your darkest most embarrassing secrets!"

"Ohhh!"

Everyone cooed in excitement as Nora's smirk fell a little. Nevertheless she smirked and quickly sprinted across the hall, bringing back with her a small plushy of… Wait, no that isn't-!

"I have a plushy of Ren" She smiled and held the doll up high "Can't sleep at night without it"

Ruby and yang both awed as Rens face darkened several shades from a recognizable blush, and Blake smiled as she reached a hand forward.

"May I?"

Nora seemed to hesitate slightly, but smiled and nodded after a moment or two, carefully handing it over to Blake.

"I never thought I'd see the day where Nora of all people were careful with something" Jaune chuckled, getting a playful punch to the shoulder from the person in question.

"He's so cute" Weiss squealed, having scooted over beside Blake to get a closer look at the Ren plushy "how long have you had him?"

"I must have had him ever since I was like, seven" Nora chuckled with slight embarrassment "I really should grow out of him sometime"

"No no, I think it's wonderful to have a little buddy" Pyrrha denied as she looked over at the black and white duo of team RWBY, holding the plushy "I've never really had plushies like these"

"Hehe" Nora chuckled.

Weiss scooted a bit closer to Blake to get a closer look, but as she did, Ebris couldn't help but notice how Blake was leaning away from Weiss and holding the plushy so that Weiss was closer to it rather than her. What was up with that?

Ebris figured that Blake was just drunk or something and smiled as they handed the plushy back to Nora, and let her embarrassment end for now.

After a couple of rounds, and more than a handful of passes being made, Yang smirked as her spun bottle landed on Ebris. Oh boy, here we go.

"Whelp, if I'm gonna die from embarrassment, I might as well go all the way" Ebris pouted, glaring up at Yang "You're getting what you wanted. Urgh… Dare"

Yang practically flared up at the opportunity and smirked as the gears began cranking in her head.

"hehehe" She stood up and pointed her finger challengingly at Ebris "I dare you to strip down to your underwear and-!"

"Pass"

"Eh!?"

The instant rejection took her by surprise and almost made her fall over as her bravado disappeared as quickly as it had shown up.

"What the hell, Ebris?" Jaune said surprised "What's up with that pass?"

"What?" Ebris mumbled casually "The rules state you get one pass. I decided to use it"

"But why now?" Nora asked, confused as well "I mean, this isn't exactly the most embarrassing thing to do"

"Are you kidding me Nora?" Ebris mumbled "I'm not about to sprint around campus like a madman now that old Ozzy has finally accepted me into his precious academy. Plus, I have a reputation to uphold"

"What, the "I'm an edgy loner" reputation?" Ruby chuckled "Hate to break it to you, but that's too late since you're hanging with us"

"That wasn't my point" Ebris said with a grunt of annoyance as he flicked Ruby across the forehead "I'm just saying, Ozpin let me into the academy and expects me to do well. So I'm not about to ruin that for myself"

"Fair enough, fair enough" Yang shrugged and handed the bottle to the next contestant "Though I gotta say Ebris, I respect your decision"

"Thanks Yang" A small smile appeared on Ebris' lips as he looked over at Velvet, who was the next to spin the bottle "Go wild, fluffy"

Everyone chuckled at Ebris' nickname for Velvet, which made her pout and blush.

"My name is Velvet, thank you very much" She said playfully before spinning the bottle, letting the game continue.

The next few rounds the dares or truths got more and more ridiculous. Jaune had been, for the sake of not drinking that god awful whisky, stripped off his armor and shown off the bunny that proudly was printed on the front of his shirt.

"How the hell do you even fit that anymore!?" Yang laughed, rolling on the floor besides her sister.

"I might have ordered it a size or three too large" he laughed softly "My excuse was so that I had space to grow up in"

After that, Yang had been dared to drink the rest of the whiskey by Nora, thinking she was clever by trying to trick Yang into taking the rest of the pass punishment, but luckily for Yang, she had held onto her pass.

"Damnit! Foiled again!" Nora yelled dramatically as she fell into Ren's lap "This is unbelievable!"

Ebris couldn't help but chuckle at Nora's behavior. He wouldn't exactly describe her as childish, just very happy-go-lucky and energetic.

After that, Ebris had for some reason been challenged to try and bench Ruby and Yang, which he had struggled a little with, but finally managing after a good while.

"Damn you're strong Ebris!" Yatsuhashi said with a smirk "I thought for sure that would fail!"

"Are you saying I'm fat, Yatsuhashi!?" Yang yelled, her red eyes flaring a little.

"N-No, of course not!" He yelped, quickly trying to get behind cover "Just saying that bench-pressing two people isn't easy! It has nothing to do with your weight!"

Yang huffed and sat back down in her seat. Just how much did she drink to get that moody?

As the evening went on, and the passes and last amounts of Atlesian whisky was gone, everyone had slowly began to drift apart one by one. As each student left the circle and went to their own dorm room or bed, the group began to thin out, eventually leaving only the remaining members of team CFVEY, Yatsu, Coco, and Fox, all sprawled unceremoniously on Coco's bed, each of them snoring in their own tone and volume, while Ebris and Velvet was walking around and cleaning up in their dorm room.

"Heh, and Yang called me a softy" Ebris smirked, gazing over at the group sprawled on the couch "Look at them"

Velvet couldn't help but smile a little, despite the thoughts that currently clouded her mind. The three other members had been so deep in the pit of drunkenness that they had fallen right asleep, and had to be heaved into bed by the two remaining lightweights of the team, and they had been so inflicted by alcohol that they hadn't cared to carry each of the three to their own beds.

"Ebris… Can we talk?"

Ebris looked up with a frown. Even despite his own drunkenness, he could hear the sudden shift in tone of Velvets slightly shaky voice. She seemed nervous about something, yet he didn't understand why.

"Sure fluffy. What's up?"

As embarrassed as Velvet was at the nickname, now was no time to address it. She took a breath to collect herself, and then turned towards Ebris with a determined expression.

"I-I… I think you should drop out of Beacon"

"Excuse me?"

Ebris frowned and looked over at Velvet in shock. Where the hell did this come from!?

"Being here… It's only going to torment you further" Velvet mumbled nervously "You staying here isn't going to give you the closure you seek"

Ebris sighed and cast his gaze downwards. This same conversation again. No matter where he went or what he did, he'd always meet people thinking the same about him and his goals. That he was torturing himself with trying to keep his family's memory alive.

"Velvet… Drop it. This is not up for debate"

Velvet ignored him and continued.

"I'm worried about you! You staying here and focusing on the past isn't going to bring your family back, Ebris!"

"Velvet, I am serious. Drop it!"

His voice had fallen to a low growl at this point, but Velvet pressed on in determination.

"No! Seriously, don't you hear yourself!? How insane does it sound for a teenager your age to have spent over a decate trying to eradicate a species for what happened to him!? Don't you see how insane what you're trying to do is!?"

Her voice had climbed to a shout at this point.

"Hehehe…"

Velvet was taken aback by Ebris' sudden, dark chuckle to himself. He had completely forgotten all wishes of not to tear in his new team, now completely ignorant of wanting to preserve this happy relationship he had to his teammates.

"You know, people just keep surprising me" a dark gaze was in his eye as he looked back up at Velvet "People still think they have the right to mess in affairs they barely even understand"

"Ebris, I-"

"BE QUIET!"

He slammed his hand down onto the table, a dark snarl forming in the pit of his stomach. Where did this overwhelming anger come from!?

"You have NO right to analyze me like this, Scarlatina!" He yelled, his fist clenching "You've known me for only a week, I tell you a little about my past, and you already have the audacity to tell me how to live MY life!?"

"Ebris, please-"

"NO! I am sick and tired of people patronizing me! You have no idea what I've been through to get to this point! All of my life I have trained! Sparring till my knuckles bled and my knees gave in under me! Running kilometer after kilometer in pouring rain just to reach that final goal! My whole life I've been preparing for this! And then you come from your safe little haven, with your huge family and many loved ones, an everyday life with no danger, and have the gut to tell me I should change my ways!?"

"Ebris please just listen to me!" Velvet stepped forward in another brave attempt "I know how you must feel! Your family was important to you, so is mine to me. But you can't go around sacrificing your mental and physical health for something that will never return!

Your family died, but they wouldn't want to see you like this! Draining yourself mentally and physically! Tearing up your body to the point where you have to bandage your hands to keep training!"

She pointed over at his bag, a few clumps of bloody rags being left there.

"Yeah, don't think I didn't notice!" Velvet yelled at Ebris' slight stun "They wouldn't want to see you this way! They'd want you to move on and live your life, find new relationships that can fill out the void they left!"

Ebris clenched his fists, his knuckles and fingers going white from the pressure.

"Velvet, you listen to me" He said threateningly "You are walking on very thin ice here. You have no right to assume what my family would want for me. I might have been young when it happened, but I still remember it clear as day. I remember my family as well as I would have if they had still been alive.

My family was a proud one! They hung on their pride and cherished it. And when I first told my father I wanted to be a hunter just like my big sister, you couldn't believe how proud he felt! He was practically beaming!"

Tears were welling up in Ebris' eyes, as he kept banging his fist on the counter knuckles-first, a bit of red stains beginning to appear.

"He would have been proud of me for practicing so hard! He would have encouraged me to try even harder, told me that even if my muscles screamed at me to stop, that I needed to keep going! My sister was a huntress like no other Velvet! And I can only hope to achieve the things she did!"

His chest tightened and his heartbeat quickened. He had yelled so much and so hard now that he had quickly run out of breath.

"You, with your cozy little family and your trustworthy and safe familial situation, have no right to tell me, what is good or bad for me! I have been living like this for years, and I doubt another 3 years will kill me!"

"It's not about that you idiot!" Now Velvet was tearing up too, shaking all over from nervousness "Don't you see how your behavior is pushing away the people who try to help you!? When you hide this sort of stuff from us, it pushes us away! It makes you untrustworthy! It makes you unstable! A burden like this isn't for only one person to bear!

I just want to help you Ebris! To help you move on and become a better person as a result! All four of us do! But if you keep training on your own, wearing yourself down so much mentally, there is no way we can break through to you, don't you understand!?"

"No, Velvet! I don't understand!" He screamed "Why do you people have to continue to mettle in my affairs!? I. Don't. Need. Your. Help. I don't need your concern, or your care, or anything! The only thing that matters to me is to get revenge for my family! I know they'll never come back, but this is my way of coping! This is my way of grieving for the people who I loved the most in the entire world! Not only my family back then, but my friends and relatives that died along with them! This is my way of healing! Why can't you just let me grieve!?"

"BECAUSE IT IS DESTROYING YOU FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!"

Ebris fell silent at her scream. His blood was pumping, his body had begun to shake, and cracks had formed underneath his fist in the table. Yet he had fallen deadly silent.

"I don't want to see you destroy yourself, Ebris" She whimpered, drying her eyes over and over again "I just want to help… I just… I…"

Ebris growled and turned away from her, trying to ignore the rising pain in the left side of his chest.

"I-I don't need your-!"

He took a step forward but was stunned by a blinding pain shooting up along his abdomen and chest, locking him into place. He could barely breathe suddenly, and his heart was beating frantically fast. He tried to massage at the pain along his upper chest, which only made the blinding pain rise to even worse heights.

The world around him began to grow dark as he felt his body suddenly slump forward, his entire body falling and his legs feeling like noodles under him. His head felt brick-heavy, the entire world swirling around him as his body fell to the floor with a thud.

"E-Ebris?"

Velvet's voice seemed so distant. It sounded like she called to him from the end of a tunnel, his ears rang loudly as his whole body jolted with a nasty pain that took his breath away.

The last thing he heard somewhere in the distance as his consciousness left him, was the desperate cry of Velvet trying to get help.


	8. Chapter 8 - Change of Plans

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 8 - Volume 1 - Change of Plans_

The shattered moon of Remnant hung heavy that night as the entirety of Team CFV_Y, JNPR and RWBY was waiting outside of Ebris' hospital room, hoping for just a bit of good news. They had already waited for almost an hour, and they were beginning to panic.

At some point, Ozpin, Goodwitch, and even general Ironwood of Atlas had arrived, asking the students a few quick questions about just what had happened up until the point of Ebris' health turning for the worse. They had told them that they had been drinking and Velvet and Ebris had gotten into a huge argument, after which he had collapsed. The adults nodded and thanked the students for their cooperation before running along to find a doctor to get a proper report on Ebris' condition.

Each of the students of the three teams was sitting in the hall outside Ebris' operation room, each of them on either side of the hall.

"Let's just calm down" Ren said silently, clenching his fists in his lap ""I'm sure he'll be fine."

Pyrrha doubted it, but instead of saying that, she nodded, hoping to keep morale and hope alive. When Velvet had suddenly screamed for help that evening she had at first thought that their argument had turned to violence, but the sight that had met her when everyone bailed towards CFVEY's dorm room proved otherwise, as she saw Ebris sprawled on the ground, twitching slightly and with a weird purple glow coming from his chest and up to his shoulder as Velvet desperately tried to deliver CPR, that being her best idea of helping Ebris.

"What even is going on here?" Jaune questioned, looking up at the others for any sort of clearance to the matter "Did you guys see how his body was glowing?"

"We all saw what happened Jaune" Weiss said with a hint of annoyance, feeling like Jaune's question was unnecessary "We were all there"

"I've never seen someone's skin glow like that" Ruby mumbled, still seeing the purple-ish glow before her eyes.

"I'm more fascinated about that scar of his" Blake mumbled to herself as she pondered "All black. It looked like it was almost pulsing"

Velvet, having been silent up to this point, tore up and began crying into her hands. She was certain that this was her fault somehow. This had only happened after Ebris had been so worked up because of their argument. Whatever was wrong with him must have worked up over time because of the stress that came with his constant training, and their argument must have pushed him over the edge.

Fox was sitting by her side, patting her back softly and soothingly. He was still surprised neither him, nor Yatsuhashi or Coco had woken up from their argument, but Velv's desperate cry had done it for them.

As much as they had had to drink that evening, the alcohol's effect had disappeared as if it had never even happened the moment they heard what had happened to Ebris. They were all deadly serious, even Yang dared not to crack a pun at a time like this, though she had considered it just to lift the mood a little bit.

The thought of how Ebris had gotten that scar to begin with was fairly easy for everyone to piece together, considering what he had told them earlier that evening. It must have happened when the Grim overran his village on Patch. But why did it still have such a profound effect on him almost 15 years later?

As they pondered upon this question the lamp above the operation room door turned off, and a nurse stepped out, overwhelmed with the amount of people waiting for the update she was about to deliver. She was certain Ozpin had mentioned how he had been alone since childhood?

She collected herself as the students began cramming around her for answers, asking them to calm down so she could deliver the final verdict.

"His condition has improved and he is currently resting" She said softly, quelling their fears "He is very tired. A bodily malfunction like this usually use every muscle in the body beyond exhaustion, so I ask you that you please return to Beacon and visit tomorrow afternoon"¨

Pyrrha noted how the nurse made it sound like glowing scars and violent bodily breakdowns were a normal thing around here, but she paid it no mind as Yang spoke her mind in irritation.

"Are you kidding me!?" Yang said, a flare of anger bursting up in her "We've been waiting for more than an hour, and now you tell us we can't even see him!?"

"Yang please" Ruby mumbled softly "Come on"

"It's for his own good young lady" The nurse instructed with a harsh frown "You'll really only endanger his further psychological improvement if you disturb him now"

"Grr…!" Yang growled and sighed before giving up, letting her flare leave her body "Fine. Whatever"

She began stomping back towards the exit decisively, Ruby quickly apologizing for her sister's temper to the nurse before running after her in a hurry, Blake and Weiss quickly following after them after saying their goodbyes to their friends. Team CFV_Y stayed behind, trying one last time to get to see Ebris, before promptly being told off by the nurse.

"You guys are Remnant's future protectors" The nurse said, annoyed at their begging "You need rest as well. You should be home studying instead of wasting your time here, waiting for Mr. Eacho to wake up"

"As harsh as that is," Yatsuhashi said with a frown as he turned to his team "She has a point. We could go home and attempt to get proper sleep, or stay here and ultimately exhaust ourselves"

The rest of the team nodded and thanked the nurse for her help, before they began to go back to Beacon as well.

* * *

In the doctor's office nearby, Ironwood, Goodwitch and Ozpin had just finished discussing Ebris' condition with the head doctor, thanking him for his help as they stepped out into the hall.

"This was exactly what I feared, Ozpin" Ironwood said with a frown as he rubbed the bridge of his nose "Ebris has obviously gone through mental stress since he came here"

"Are you implying that him staying at my academy was a mistake?"

"Yes of course" Ironwood says as he frowned at Ozpin "This only happened after he got to Beacon after all"

"I believe you fail to see things in the bigger picture" Ozpin corrected him "You have thoroughly told Glynda and I to keep a close watch with him since he arrived, and I can tell you that this is no result of his environment. This could have happened anywhere else just as likely.

Since you gave the responsibility of keeping an eye on Mr. Eacho over to us you probably don't know, but up until the initiation, he has been training almost nonstop for the entirety of the week he had for preparation. It is no doubt that, which pushed him this far."

Ozpin took a calm sip of his mug before taking a glance through the window to Ebris' hospital room. He was fast asleep, a heartbeat monitor and a drip hooked up to him via several colorful cords.

"All the more reason to pull him out of school for a few weeks" Ironwood insisted, stepping forward to emphasize his point "If you're not willing to cease his training against his will, then I shall!"

"James, you must remember that Ebris is no government-owned experiment" Ozpin said, not phased in the slightest by James' insistence "They might claim so, but neither you, nor your outranking officers, own him. He has his own goals and believes, and as long as he is a student in my academy, they shall be accepted and respected."

"This isn't easy for me either Oz" James mumbled, turning to look through the window as well "The board keep pressuring me from one side, and you insist on pressuring me with the opposite on the other side. At one point I have to look out for myself and make a choice"

"I know, James" Ozpin nodded "And I appreciate your effort to help getting Ebris here in the first place"

Glynda, having stayed silent until now, looked up after having placed her glasses back properly on the top of her nose.

"Wouldn't it be natural to let Ebris and his team work things out on their own? After all, they are supposed to work together the next three years. If Ebris wishes to leave because of the mental stress, then let him. If he wishes to stay, he stays. Can't really be easier than that"

She stepped past the two of them and looked back at them over her shoulder.

"Now, I believe it is time to return, do you not Ozpin?"

"Indeed. James, I will continue to rely on you from now on. Please do support us in any way you can. It helps more than you think that you're keeping that board of yours under restraint, both for Ebris' and my own sake"

James nodded softly and watched Ozpin and Goodwitch leave.

"Let's just hope the subject doesn't get damaged any further…"

James frowned silently and glanced in through the window again. Having interrogated the students had taught him valuable information about Ebris. The physical stress combined with the emotional turmoil of that argument, must have caused some sort of chain reaction inside Ebris. Only Ozpin, Glynda, James himself, and the board of directors watching over project Tenebris, knew exactly what the source of this whole ordeal was.

And that's exactly how it should be.

James sighed softly and turned away from the window, beginning to question to himself whether it was morally right to keep it from Ebris, but for the sake of the project's success, he could not afford to spill information, not even to Ebris himself.

James cleared his throat of the lump that had lodged itself in there, redressed his coat, and turned to walk down the hallway.

He had known this would get complicated, but this was worse than what anyone had imagined.

* * *

The port was eerily quiet that night and for no good reason as the orange haired man walked along between the different warehouses, sweeping his bangs to the side to get a proper view of his surroundings. No one was around. Good. When operating such a shady business as the ones he was used to, it was important to have a proper overview of everything.

He looked around one last time before stepping up to the third warehouse from the far left of the port, and knocked a couple of times in his usual fashion.

"It's me" He said, the process having been repeated so many times that no more was necessary.

The doors promptly opened and he slid inside, the darkness of night covering his tracks.

Walking through the entranceway of the warehouse, the tidy suited man stopped in his tracks as a woman's voice rang out from the overarching walkway above him.

"You're late, Roman!"

The voice had a tinge of annoyance and impatience hiding beneath it, but he was only ever so used to that tone. He always arrived late.

"Have you never heard of fashionably late?" He chuckled to himself, swinging his cane coyly as the woman jumped down to meet him.

"Of course. Just not when we have such important matters to discuss" The woman said, her face and upper body still concealed by the shadows.

"Well, maybe if you tidied this place up a bit, I would actually give a crap about arriving on time" Roman said, dusting off his prime white suit "White cloth and dust normally don't go well together"

The woman huffed. Despite the darkness concealing her face her amber eyes were still shining clearly in the warehouse conceals, giving off a vibe of mysterious danger.

"It's exactly that kind of slacker attitude that get people killed" the woman cooed, suddenly smiling at him as he approached "Wouldn't want you dead, now would we Roman?"

"Whatever" He rolled his eyes and sat down on a nearby crate "So, Wonder Woman, why call me out here? The next meeting wasn't planned until next month"

"Well, let's just say that I've added a slight… Alteration to the plan" The woman smirked, holding up a scroll "Ever seen this young individual before?"

Roman took a disinterested look down at the woman's scroll. It was a young man, seemed tall and well-build, medium long brunette hair that seemed to have dark black tinges starting at the middle of the top of his scalp, and thinning out as it ran along his hair strands.

His eyes were a deep blue and he seemed to have the slightest stubble along the top-most part of his jaw, though that was only the slightest amount. Couldn't be much older than 17 or 18 years of age.

"No. Never seen him before" Roman looked up at the woman "What about him?"

"He'll play a big part in things to come" the woman smiled a toothy grin "When we destroy Beacon he will be a valuable asset"

"Can't see how a teenager like him can be of much help" Roman said, pulling a cigar out of his cigar case and lighting it "I mean sure, he's well build, but so are the mutts we work around with every day"

He looked back at the white fang members he referred to, who both growled at him for his degrading nickname. He paid them no mind and turned back to the woman.

"What's so special about this kid?"

The woman couldn't help but giggle playfully as she gazed down at her scroll.

"You of all people should know that looks can be deceiving, Roman" She smiled and leaned a hand against his cheek as she stared into his eyes "We can't afford to lose this one"

"I know" He smirked nervously, not entirely sure if the woman was just out to push his buttons or something else.

The woman's smile disappeared as she looked into the back of the warehouse over her shoulder and raised her voice in command.

"Emerald! Mercury!"

The more people stepped out as their names were called, awaiting further command.

"When we go to Beacon," The woman started "the two of you will have to keep an extra good eye on this young man. He is too valuable of an asset to lose"

"Right"

They answered in one voice and the woman smiled in satisfaction. A smile Roman wasn't always too fond of.

"Good"

She turned back to Roman with a stern expression and gestured for him to follow her.

"Come Roman. We have plans to look over"

She put down her scroll on a nearby table as they passed it on their way further inside the warehouse, and its display was still on, illuminating the surrounding darkness. Under the picture of the young man in question was a name:

Ebris Eacho.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hey guys, thank you for reading this new chapter of my RWBY fic!**

 **Things are looking quite dangerous it seems, but what could they mean when they say that Ebris is a valuable asset? Only time will tell.**

 **IF you liked this new chapter make sure to leave a review, or even if you didn't like it. I can always use constructive criticism on how to make my writing better.**

 **Hope to see you guys in the next one.**

 **See ya!**


	9. Chapter 9 - We Need to Talk

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 9 - Volume 1 - We Need To Talk_

"29… 30… 31…"

Having woken up several hours ago, Ebris sighed softly as he got done counting the squares in the ceiling for what must have been the seventh time. Exactly 38 large square tiles. He didn't know why he bothered counting the last six times, but he had a feeling it had something to do with him being bored out of his mind.

It was still early that morning. 6 in the morning to be exact. He had a weird feeling of emptiness in his chest where the usual warmth of his heartbeat used to be. Of course the heartbeat was still there, he'd be dead otherwise, but the usual calm feeling he would get to just lie down and listen to his own heartbeat was no longer there.

In fact, right now it only served to unnerve and piss him off.

"Urgh… First proper night of sleep in years and it has to be after I get knocked out by a heart attack" Ebris sighed "A genius you are Ebris, a genius you are"

He groaned in annoyance and tried to sit up, but couldn't, first because of how weak he felt, secondly because he didn't want to risk ripping out the cords currently tugged to his arm and chest.

He hadn't alerted the nurses that he was awake because he honestly found the hustle and buzzle of the hospital annoying. Always so busy, and the noise from the different people, be it the nurses, the doctors or the patients, had just the right frequency to push his buttons. It was the kind of sound that he couldn't ignore, and he just had to get away from in case people wanted to keep their furniture intact.

But that wasn't what pissed him off right now, seeing as how there was almost no noise right now. The silence was death-heavy, only ever obstructed by the occasional silent "Thump, Thump, Thump" of the nurse's footsteps as she or he patrolled the hall outside his room. In this situation, it was almost worse than the casual buzzing of patients and doctors of the usually busy hospital.

He could still feel a slight sting of pain coming from his chest, but as of right now, that was the least of his concerns. Last night's events kept running on repeat inside his head, specifically the argument he had had with Velvet that had started this whole thing to begin with.

" _Why do you people have to mettle in my affairs!? I. Don't. Need. Your. Help. I don't need your care, or your concern or anything!"_

Those words kept echoing through his mind. What the hell had he been thinking?! How could he have yelled at her like that!? She had been shaking from nervousness, seemed so petite and fragile that the slightest further pressure could have made her shatter like a glass pane.

He would have to apologize to her. Apologize and explain why he had reacted so explosively. But for now, he would try and get some sleep.

He nuzzled further down into the comfortable hospital bed and his bedsheets, trying to get into a comfortable position. He didn't have a lot of hope for getting a nights rest without nightmares, but he would still try.

After trying to get into several comfortable positions and either failing because of the cords connected to him, or the new position simply not helping his predicament, he gave up and finally decided to press the button by his bedpost and call the nurses. Anything to escape this godforsaken silence.

Later that day, Team CFV_Y dashed to Ebris' hospital room. Not even 10 minutes ago they had heard how Ebris had woken up that night, seeming almost perfectly fine besides a mild complaint of pain in his chest. Different thoughts ran through everyone's heads.

Velvet was mostly concerned whether he was really okay or not. That seizure or whatever it was that he had gotten last night was intense, and she had never seen anything like it.

Yatsuhashi and Fox were more interested in getting some actual answers as to exactly what that seizure was, and what it meant. It was almost otherworldly, even in a world filled with monsters of darkness, and a people that can frequently use magic-like semblences. They already knew that Ebris was a tough customer and that he would pull through, so they weren't as concerned of his wellbeing as Velvet was.

All Coco was concerned with was to get her new teammate back to full health. Though knowing just what had happened last night wouldn't be a bad bonus.

They stepped into the room, surprised to see people already there. A boy and a girl, looking like they were around their age, was standing by the foot of the bed, and watching Ebris sleep.

The guy was tall and well-build, with a tinge on the pale side. His hair was a long mess of unkempt grey-ish, and he was wearing a black and grey two-toned zip-jacket along with a set of black jeans. As he looked up at them , Coco noticed how his eyes were a dark silvergrey.

The girl accompanying him was slightly shorter than himself. As she looked up at them, a pair of dark red eyes peered up at them, Velvet mentally noting how pretty her eyes were. The girl was wearing an intricate white top along with an olive colored crop top, exposing most of her front and her bosom.

Her lower half was clothed by a set of white shorts, accompanied by a gold coin decorated belt, with what looked like an olive-colored loincloth. She also had various decorations consisting of bronze rings and beads on her hands and wrists, and was wearing high heels.

Her mint green hair was neatly cut into a straight fringe and bangs, except for two locks that were hanging down her back.

As Ebris' team entered, the two strangers looked up in surprise, and looked at each other with a look that made Coco believe they were conversing mentally. Not before the team even managed to spill a word, did the tall guy step forward and smiled confidently.

"I'm sorry, we were just leaving"

He looked back at the girl and she nodded, before bowing to the team and following him out of the room. On their way out, Velvet and the girl exchanged a glance, one that set off alarms in Velvet's mind. For what reason she was not sure, though she couldn't escape the bad vibe these two gave her. Maybe it was just her bunny side telling her to stay extra alert around these two strangers.

Nevertheless, she worried more about Ebris' health than the identity of the two newcomers right now.

The team watched the two strangers leave, and looked at each other with a few shrugs, before disregarding the situation that had just occurred. Since they were more worried about Ebris at the current moment, they decided that getting to talk with him was of utmost importance.

Velvet and Coco sat down in chairs by each of Ebris' bedsides, while Yatsu and Fox took their place by the door and the window respectively, each of them leaning against the corresponding wall.

"Should we… You know, wake him up?" Velvet mumbled unsurely, looking down at Ebris' face.

"Let him sleep for now" Coco mumbled, having taken off her shades for once and hanged them in the front of her shirt "He was exhausted last night"

"Yeah you're right" Velvet was close to tearing up again "This is all my fault…"

The others looked at her as if she had gone mad.

"Velv, how is any of this your fault?" Yatsu asked silently, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We had that massive argument last night…" Velvet mumbled, ready to let her tears flow "I must have been the one that pushed him over the edge"

"Velvet, we already talked about this" Coco said with a frown, the type of frown a mother would give her child when she was scolding them "You only wanted to do what was right"

Velvet was about to retaliate when Ebris began to stir in his bed, and the four of them lit up and subconsciously scooted closer as he began to open his eyes. Squinting his eyes a few times, he smiled as he finally realized who was there in the room with him.

"Oh… Hey guys" He smiled softly, stretching his arms with a yawn "Good to see-!"

He widened his eyes and gazed down at Velvet who had rushed forward and pulled him into a rib-crushing hug. He blushed a little and looked up at his teammates for help, but they just shrugged and smirked. He rolled his eyes and decided to bring his arms around Velvet, consoling her with a hug of his own.

"Calm down Velv… I'm fine, see? I'm fine"

He kept hushing her as he squeezed her body every now and again, feeling her shake from her silent crying.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!"

He squeezed her body and chuckled quietly to himself. She was weirdly cute when she was so fragile-looking.

"Come on Velvet, seriously" He smiled down at her "You're gonna stain my bedsheets"

It was almost like she didn't hear him at all as she snuggled her face into his chest and cried. He gave her a minute or two to calm down, before she pulled back and dried her eyes and cheeks, which were sparkling from dew-wet tears.

"Sorry" She sniffled, having finally managed to close the drains, a small unsteady smile forming on her features "I'm happy you're okay though".

Her voice was noticeably shaky, much to Ebris' surprise. Had he really worried her that much?

"Has anything like this happened before Ebris?" Fox asked, his head turned in the direction of Ebris' hospital bed "It was a pretty chaotic night last night"

Ebris shook his head and began to pinch his chin in thought. Just what did happen last night? He couldn't remember much except Velvet's panicked expression as she rushed forward to grab him from falling face-first into the dorm room's wooden plank floor.

This seemed to bring a slight blush up in Ebris. It began to hit him just how severe the argument last night had been. He had reacted out of anger, a frustration that had built up over many years. Velvet though, had reacted out of a feeling of pure concern. A concern for her teammate and new friend, a concern that Ebris hadn't felt directed towards him in a long time.

Deciding to drop it for now, Ebris let go of his chin and looked up at his team.

"No, nothing like that's ever happened before"

"Well, instead of worrying about it, I think it's a good time to think about what to do next" Yatsu said softly "This could be a one-time thing for all we know"

"Yatsu is right" Velvet said with a determined nod "We need to get back to Beacon and resume our training"

Ebris chuckled a little at Velvet's apparent determination to go back. Not even twelve hours ago she had begged for him to drop out of Beacon, for his own sake. After this happened… Maybe he had to consider it?

He would have to talk with Velvet at some point, but not one to spoil the otherwise good mood he and his team were currently in, he saw no reason to bring it up now, and decided to leave it be until Velv and him had a chance to talk privately.

"Good to see you guys are still up and running"

Ebris looked up and smiled as Team RWBY and JNPR were filing into the room, having just arrived themselves.

"Hey guys" Ebris couldn't help but smile at their arrival "Good to see you"

"Don't you dare talk so casually Eacho!" Nora yelled as she sped over and slung her arms around his head "WE WERE SO WORRIED!"

"Ren, help me!"

Ebris called out to Ren, who smiled and went over to pry a sulking Nora off of the poor bedridden Ebris.

Jaune and Pyrrha were watching their teammates with glee, and RWBY began to settle in by the sides of Ebris' hospital bed.

"You okay, champ?" Yang asked with a smirk as she bumped his shoulder with her fist "It was a pretty rough night last night"

"Heh, I could say the same thing to you" Ebris smiled apologetically to the two new teams "I'm sorry to have worried you guys so much"

"Don't sweat it, Ebris" Jaune smiled a little, followed closely by Pyrrha "Yeah, it's not like you can control your heart from overworking itself into a heart attack"

"Another matter is the fact that you can't slack off now" Weiss commented "Even if this happened, you still need to catch up on an entire year of school before you can catch up to your teammates"

The realization hit Ebris like a bag of bricks. It was true. If he truly wanted to be a part of this team, he need to work extra hard. He would need to work double time with studying this year if he wanted to play catchup. His team deserved a proper teammate, and for that to happen, he had to step down from training for a moment to allow himself to bury himself in textbooks.

"Urgh…"

He let his head fall back on his pillow in slight agony, at which Velvet began to chuckle.

"Don't worry Ebris, I'll help you with whatever I can"

That was a slight improvement at least. Still, the fact of him having to study two years' worth of knowledge in the span of a single year pained him to no end.

"Whelp, it seems you're getting your way, Scarlatina" He sighed "I have to calm down with the training if I want to catch up to you guys"

She couldn't help but pump her fist in victory. She had to admit that she hadn't considered how cramped Ebris' curriculum must be in yesterday's argument.

"Don't worry, there'll still be more than enough time for training" Fox reassured him "Just don't overwork yourself okay?"

Yatsu nodded and smiled in agreement, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah. We're a team can depend on us just as much as we will depend on you in the future"

"And we wouldn't want our teamwork be flawed because of his pride as a fighter, now would we?" Coco finished off.

Ebris sighed and nodded reluctantly. They really did have much more experience than him. Technically they were his elders, despite the only single year of age difference, and they had more than a years' worth of experience when it came to teamwork and working together to form a proper strategy. Plus, Ebris would assume they all went to combat school before Beacon, which he hadn't had any option of doing.

As much as he hated to admit it, he had never actually been in the field or fought Grimm properly before the initiation, so he had to declare defeat on the matter.

"You're right. I know you are" He said with a defeated sigh "I have been acting like a child towards you guys and it's not fair. I'm sorry"

They all nodded and Yang patted him on the back with her typical grin.

"Now that's how a proper teammate is supposed to sound" She laughed "Make sure to come to any of us if you need help. We're your friends after all"

Weiss huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Friend is a bit of a strong word" She said in her usual tone "More like an acquaintance, but yeah, I guess I could help you out too"

He nodded, and hoped none of the others noticed how his lower lip was quaking.

'Dammit Ebris, keep it together!'

"Y-Yeah, that sounds awesome guys" He nodded, trying to hold back his tears.

He had felt a weird sense of unease and fear, waiting for his teammates to arrive the night before. He had feared that his new teammates had turned to hating him for bursting out against Velvet the night before, but that fear seemed to have no ground to stand on.

Still, he didn't exactly know where he stood with his teammates and the two other teams of Beacon he had come to know since he arrived there. He wasn't sure if they were friends, or just acquaintances, or maybe something else, Yang's latest reassurance not managing to quell his unease on the matter much.

They had only known each other for a few days at most, since he had mostly kept to himself before the initiation, but despite that they seemed to have an understanding with each other that stepped past the point of only being each other's piers.

And he still didn't know much about any of them. The game last night had certainly helped him understand some parts, for example Velvet's living situation and what kind of family she had.

He had also come to learn that Ruby and Yang were from Patch, but that was about it. Compared to how much an actual friend would know, he knew next to nothing about them.

But maybe he doubted himself too much. His own team and RWBY and JNPR, had only known each other for a few weeks at most. Even most of the different team's members had only recently gotten to know each other, so maybe it wasn't too late for him to get to know them.

"How many of you are ready to go back to Beacon?"

Ebris looked up and was surprised to see Headmaster Ozpin in the doorway. Why was he here? Sure, Ebris had gotten a chance to enroll on his behalf, but he didn't know that the headmaster worried for him personally.

"Headmaster Ozpin, Team CFVEY is ready to return" Coco announced, apparently having forgotten her usual teasing manner in place of the awe filled respect for the headmaster of her school.

"Good. What about RWBY and JNPR?"

Both teams affirmed their readiness of return, and Ozpin nodded a satisfied nod.

"Good. I know this isn't in my place to ask, but can I get a few minutes with Ebris in private?"

This struck Ebris as even weirder than before. What could Ozpin need to talk to him about? And why couldn't his team hear what he had to say?

The others seemed as confused as he was, taking a glance around at each other indifferently, before filing out of the door. Velvet stuck around for a moment, making sure to let Ebris know that she would be just outside if he needed him. Ebris nodded at her, before she also left, leaving him and the headmaster the only occupants of the now eerily quiet hospital room.

Ozpin strode over to the large window of the hospital room, a tinge of tenseness in his step as he walked.

"Ebris, we need to talk"


	10. Chapter 10 - A Well Deserved Break

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 10 - Volume 1 - A Well Deserved Break_

Ozpins silence made Ebris nervous. The headmaster had personally come to talk to him about something, and all of a sudden when they were alone, he had fallen deathly silent. This would have to be about his heart attack-like seizure. But nothing about that seemed normal. A heart attack doesn't make your skin glow purple.

"Please be assured Mr. Eachos, this is in no way to frighten you" Ozpin finally spoke, clutching his mug in his hand "I only want to reassure you about what happened to you"

Nailed it.

"As you might have deduced, that seizure you had wasn't natural" Ozpin said in a low, yet calm voice "It is a result as to what happened to you when you were young, but I am afraid that, because of security reasons, that I can't tell you much beyond that"

Ebris felt a sting of annoyance.

"It's my body, and my past, isn't it?" He asked, trying to hide a growl "This information is in regards to me, correct? Then it would only be natural for me to know"

"I know that it's frustrating" Ozpin said, turning towards Ebris in his bed "But this isn't just about you, Mr. Eachos. This information could kill, or heal depending in which hands it lies"

What the hell is going on here?

"So it's a trust issue huh?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it that. I would say… Classified."

Ebris drew a deep sigh. Despite his growing frustrations, other emotions that was growing inside him was intrigue and curiosity, as well as a tinge of fear.

He remembered his family, and the place he called home, but he didn't remember much about the actual night the Grimm attacked his hometown. He had an inkling feeling that whatever was wrong with him, had a connection to the scar that was currently still feeling like it was pulsating under his shirt. He put a hand over his chest to check, but nothing seemed to pulse against his palm. Was it just his imagination?

He sighed again and rested his hand back in his lap, looking up at Ozpin with a defeated look.

"Alright, Ozpin" he said, narrowing his eyes up at his headmaster suspiciously "What is the point of telling me this, if you're not gonna elaborate anything past that?"

"As I said, I wanted to reassure you that the attack you suffered wasn't a serious illness or condition" he mumbled, the steam from his mug running up his features "I might not be able to tell you further details, but I can still settle your mind by saying that this won't be a common occurrence as long as you don't strain yourself or put yourself through too much stress in too long time periods"

"So basically, Velvet was right" Ebris mumbled, clenching his bedsheets in his hands "Training and stressing really is 'tormenting' me, as she put it"

A sigh escaped the headmaster as he gazed back out the window.

"Beacon academy is based upon a foundation of hope, trust, and partnership" He mumbled his gaze seeming steeled in seriousness "Mr. Eachos, I have made more mistakes than any man, woman and child in this world. But I don't believe that enrolling you into Beacon was one of them"

Ebris frowned in confusion of the older man's vague explanation, but kept quiet.

"I believe you can do great things" He said softly "With the right guidance and a good team, I am sure you will become a fine huntsman. And eventually reach your goal, whatever that will or may be"

Ebris nodded and was about to fall back into thought when Ozpin turned back towards him with a weak smile. Now that Ebris got a good look at him, it didn't seem like he had slept much the last at least 12 hours or something.

"Just listen to your teammates, and stay out of training for the next couple of months" He said softly "Stay fit, but don't push yourself too hard. And do keep up with your studies, okay?"

Ebris nodded and looked down at his bedsheets. That sounded like a decent plan. Now that he had nearly died from exhaustion basically, he had to calm down, maybe even stay in bed for a couple of days. A bit of relaxation wouldn't be too bad.

"Yes sir"

* * *

That following afternoon, after all of Ebris' tests were done and over with, he had begun to get ready to leave the hospital. After taking a last look in the mirror and putting on his usual wear, the rest of his team strode in through the door.

"Nice to see you back on your feet" Yatsu said with a small smile as he patted Ebris' shoulder "You ready for school?"

"Isn't it a bit too late for classes?" Ebris asked confused as he gazed up at the clock of the room "It's four in the afternoon"

"Does that exclude studying?" Coco asked with a smirk, gazing over the rim of her glasses "You have a whole year to catch up on, Bob"

She punched his shoulder playfully as he rolled his eyes and groaned loudly in frustration.

"UUUURRGH!"

The team laughed as they led him outside, and stepped into the bullhead ship that was waiting for them to take them back to Beacon.

"I don't suppose I arrived in one of these, did I?" Ebris asked curiously as he stepped up and took his seat between Yatsu and Velvet.

"No, not really" Coco explained "The bullhead ships are mostly used for transport and combat situations. The savers normally use a small helicopter, or a plane called a Med-Wing whenever ground transport isn't available for whatever reason"

"They can also double as a rad escape vehicle, should you ever need one" Fox smirked as he patted Yatsus shoulder "Remember that one time we were chased around by a pack of Ursai, and had to…"

Fox's story of adventure zoned out in Ebris' mind as he gazed out of the window of the Bullhead, the headmasters words echoing in his mind.

" _It is a result as to what happened to you when you were young, but I am afraid that, because of security reasons, that I can't tell you much beyond that"_

Those same words seemed to play on a loop in Ebris' head. Why would his past be something that the headmaster of the most popular huntsmen school, maybe in all of the world, had to keep a secret? Something about it was so fishy. If Ozpin of all people knew what happened to him back in his childhood, then how many other people knew? And who were they?

Glenda was probably one of them. She was practically the headmaster's right hand woman after all. But who else than the two?

He caught himself thinking about secret governmental research and projects when his thoughts were cut off by a gentle hand to his shoulder. He looked up and realized that Velvet was looking at him in worry.

"Ebris, are you okay?" She asked silently "You're zoning out…"

"O-Oh, yeah I'm fine" He smiled slightly, hoping it to quell Velvet's worries "Just have a lot of things to think about"

She nodded softly and looked away, a blush running up her cheeks. She remembered how scared she was the night prior, at the thought of losing her teammate, not to a Grimm or a White Fang member, but to a heart attack. Not only would it have been horrible, but she could not stand the thought of Ebris' name disappearing in time, without him ever getting a chance to show the world what he was capable of.

Deep down, Velvet knew it wasn't all about killing Grimm for Ebris. He cared deeply about people, even if he didn't show it on the outside. He especially cared about the wellbeing of his friends, even though they had basically just met.

She sighed as she gazed up at him, a worry crossing her mind.

'Just what did Ozpin talk to him about?'

* * *

A couple of weeks later, Ebris groaned as he was huddled over his Grimm studies homework, trying to remember just where the Griffon typically grew its armor-like bones on its body, Weiss stomping back and forth behind him in irritation.

"For the last time, a griffon grows its armor on its belly!" She yelled, swinging her arms with a bestiary book in one hand "I must have explained this three times now! It's to protect its most vital parts!"

"That makes no sense!" He yelled back, glaring up at his teacher "It's an eagle crossed with a lion! Why would it grow armor like that!?"

"It's a Grimm! Normal evolution doesn't apply!"

He groaned loudly and collapsed against his desk, his head hitting the wooden surface comically as the rest of his team snickered from their bunk beds. Watching Ebris study the last week and a half had been amusing to say the least, his tribulations bringing them much entertainment. This was all material they had studied on their first year at Beacon, and they had asked Weiss to go through the material with him, her academic prowess seeming useful to the team at the point of asking her.

They hadn't considered her ill temper though.

"URGH! THIS IS SO STUPID!" Ebris slammed his book shut and stood up from his desk "I need a break! Timeout!"

Velvet couldn't help but giggle under her hand, noting how Ebris seemed to have the same frustrated temper as Yang whenever her hair got damaged. And you never. EVER. Damage Yang's hair.

"Ten minutes, then we go again" Weiss instructed sharply, before rubbing her temples and sitting down besides team CFV_Y, who were still snickering from their respective beds.

Weiss was just as frustrated as Ebris, but of different reasons. She had hoped to call her sister today, but Team CFVEY's request to help Ebris had put a dent in her plans.

Ebris groaned in annoyance and collapsed on his own bed, thoughts of how many talons a Nevermore had or just what an Ursa eats, filling his head.

"Grimm studies are the worst!" He groaned again, spreading out his limps in mental exhaustion "I'm trying to kill the damn things, not learn their biography!"

"Grimm studies are just as important as any other subject, Ebris" Yatsu said softly "Knowledge like this can help you make strategies on just how to deal with them"

"I know, I know" He said, rolling his eyes "having a nap sounds like heaven right now"

"Too bad" Weiss said in annoyance "You can sleep when you're dead! I have fifty other things that require my attention"

"Like what, what kind of shampoo you should use tonight?" Ebris grumbled, resulting in Weiss puffing out her cheeks and stomping her foot.

"I have my own homework to take care of, you asshat!"

"Guys, guys, calm down will you?" Yang smirked as she stepped in through the dorm room door, carrying a tray with steaming mugs "I got your hot chocolate"

"Oh my god Yang, you're my savior!" Ebris yelled as he jumped up and grabbed his mug off the tray "I could kiss you right now!"

Ruby groaned and stuck her tongue out in playful disgust, and Blake rolled her eyes at her team leaders childlike behavior as they followed inside behind Yang.

"I'd prefer you didn't" Yang smirked teasingly as she handed out the rest of the mugs "Wouldn't want Velvet to be jealous"

Velvet had very nearly dropped her mug in embarrassed surprise as she hid her burning face with her ears, making the rest of them laugh.

"Velvet's jealousy issues aside-" Began Blake silently, getting an annoyed "hey!" from her teammate "how is studying coming along, Ebris?"

"I'm still trying to remember just what difference there is between males and females of the Nevermore species" Ebris groaned "But besides wanting to put a bullet in my own head, everything is fine"

"No one said that enrolling at Beacon would be easy, Ebris" Fox said softly, currently cleaning his blade-gauntlets as he had nothing better to do.

"I know dude. Still, didn't expect that I had to do two years' worth of studying in my first school year" Ebris said, looking defeated.

"Come now, turn that frown upside down" Coco said, jumping down from her bed and over to the radio placed in the window "How about some music?"

Some flickering noise later, and Coco had quickly found a proper radio signal, peppy pop music quickly filtering out of the radio and filling the room:

 _"Dream of anything_  
 _I'll make it all come true_  
 _everything you need_  
 _is all I have for you_

 _I'm forever_  
 _always by your side  
_ _Whenever you need a friend  
_ _never far behind"_

"God damn" Ebris smirked, soon finding himself tapping his foot and snapping his finger to the music "This sounds good! What artist is that?"

"I don't remember, but I think she got really popular rather recently" Weiss said softly, finding herself smiling a little herself "I rather enjoy her music as well"

Everyone almost fell out of their beds in shock as a rather loud commotion formed outside, before something burst through the doom room door. Before anyone knew it, Nora was suddenly standing there, holding Pyrrha, Jaune and Ren behind her in a bear grip by their collars.

"YOU GUYS ARE LISTENING TO CASEY WILLIAMS WITHOUT TELLING US!?" She yelled, immediately zooming over to turn up the volume "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

"Hello to you too Nora" Ebris mumbled, having actually fallen backwards onto the floor by the side of his bed from the shock "I take you're a fan of her?"

"She's been a fan since day one" Ren mumbled, straightening his clothes as he helped Jaune onto his feet "She's bought all Casey's songs down onto her scroll"

"Hehe, she almost got busted in class because she wouldn't stop humming the songs" Pyrrha giggled, taking Ebris' hand and helping him onto his feet.

"You guys, we're taking the radio down into the main hall!" Nora yelled, unplugging the radio "I can hook up my scroll to the speaker, and we can dance and have a good time!"

"Fitting for you to have such a crazy idea Nora" Jaune said "But we're not allowed out of the dorm rooms after curfew"

He nodded up against the clock, which was showing 10:30PM. Curfew was at 10 precisely.

"Argh, who cares about that noise?" Nora laughed, having already heaved Ren under one arm and the radio under the other "We're going, whether you like it or not!"

"Just the fact that you made such a commotion outside could potentially get you in trouble!" Weiss lectured Nora, everyone knowing full well she weren't reaching her with her lecturing.

Yatsu, Fox, Velvet and Ebris all looked up at their team leader expectantly.

"What's the final verdict, boss?" Yatsu asked "Not much we can do against Nora, is there?"

"Not really" Coco laughed, shrugging her shoulders "Whatever. This once can't hurt"

Everyone cheered and pumped their fists in the air, all except Weiss.

"But what about Ebris' studying!? What about MY studying!?"

"You can stay here and study if you want!" Ebris was already pulling on his boots by the door "I'm gonna hit the dance floor!"

* * *

Not much time had passed before they had all arrived at the main hall, Nora already in full swing of hooking up her radio and scroll.

"Damn you guys are slow!" She laughed heartily "What, are you afraid we'll be caught or something?"

"Now that you mention it, yes" Jaune mumbled, being a bit fearful "I don't want to be kicked out of the academy, you know?"

"Come on, Jauney-boy!" Yang smirked, patting his back "The teachers all rest in a separate building! You can be perfectly relaxed"

"Sure, tell me that when you're being escorted off school grounds for breaking curfew"

"Come on, let's get the party going!" Nora yelled impatiently "I already know which one to start off with!"

She pushed a button, and the party was on.

Ebris chuckled and laughed to himself as he watched how Nora was dancing with Ren, Ren's moves being well-thought and coordinated, reminiscent of hip hop, while Nora's mostly resembled a humbled mess of random movements and swings of her arms. She seemed to be enjoying herself though.

Team RWBY were dancing by themselves, holding each other's hands and jumping and moving around to the music. Blake was a little slow and awkward, but eventually caught onto the rhythm of Casey's "I Burn".

"Damn I love this song!" Yang laughed, twirling her sister around.

Over by the stage, Jaune was having a good time dancing with Pyrrha, a goofy grin on his face as he twirled her around and caught her in his arms.

Ebris' sight was suddenly cut off as a pair of hands latched over his eyes, and a teaseful voice whispered in his ear.

"Don't just stand there and watch, sir edgelord" He could tell it was Coco "You're showing us some moves"

"Moves? Do you know who you're talking to?" He chuckled by himself as he felt how Coco was leading him somewhere "I don't know how to dance!"

Coco let go of him and he opened his eyes, realizing that his team was standing around him in a circle and moving their bodies to the music, clapping along to the rhythm.

"Come on Ebris, show us what you got!" Yatsu cheered.

"But that's the problem, I don't have anything to show!"

"Come on you pantsy!" Coco laughed "You gotta have at least rhythm!"

Velvet hesitated but frowned in determination, before stepping forward and grabbing Ebris' hands in her own.

"Come on, it's not that hard!" She smiled at him encouragingly, before beginning to move to the rhythm again "You don't have to do anything, just move in place!"

Ebris blushed a little from her taking his hands, but nevertheless gained the courage to begin to try and follow the rhythm. In the beginning his movements were sloppy and off rhythm, but not much time went by before he let go of Velvet's hands and rocked his head and swayed his hips to the music.

"There we go!" Coco cheered, before dancing over and bumping her hip with Ebris' playfully "See? Was that so hard?"

"No, but it's damn fun!" He laughed, having the time of his life "Hey Ren! Would you be willing to give me dancing lessons?"

"Sure Ebris!" Ren smiled, happy that someone shared his passion for dancing "If I can get Nora to let go of my hands for long enough!"

"NEVER!" Yelled Nora, making the rest of the room resonate with laughter from all sides.

The laughter died as the music suddenly cut off, leaving the young teenagers confused. They looked around, their faces paling when they saw professor Goodwitch with the radio plug cord in her hand, looking at them with a scowl.

"Can anyone explain to me why 13 youngsters are up past bedtime and blasting music that can be heard well across campus?"

Total silence followed, until Ebris took the first initiative.

"EVERYBODY RUN!"

The young huntsmen and huntresses scattered to all sides, all except Nora, who quickly sped over and grabbed her scroll and the radio from Goodwitch, before running like her life depended on it.

"YOU'RE NEVER TAKING ME ALIVE!"

* * *

After a long trek along the halls of Beacon Academy, Ebris laughed as he burst through the door to the open rooftop, Velvet running after him with exhausted laughter. They had run from the great hall all the way here, and were both tuckered out by the long run.

"We just HAD to make a dance party in the middle of the night, didn't we?" Velvet heaved, trying to catch her breath "And on a school night no less…"

"Come on, you gotta admit that was fun!" Ebris laughed, trying to hide his wheezing.

"I have a vague suspicion that we have differing definitions of fun Ebris" Velvet said, unsuccessfully suppressing a giggle.

"Whatever, it's a memory to remember" He chuckled.

With a final deep breath he sat down by the roof's edge, looking out at the campus before him.

He had yet to appreciate how truly beautiful the campus grounds were. Being placed on high ground in the first place, many spots around Beacon served as a way to look out across the rest of the surrounding land, stretching a canopy of trees along the surrounding city of Vale.

"Kind of an odd thought but…" Ebris mumbled, looking down onto a well-lit street in the city below "I've never really been to the city of Vale before"

"Huh? How is that possible?" Velvet asked curiously "You have to get through the city to get to Beacon after all. And even if you were transported by Bullhead, the airport is still in the central city"

"Well..." He mumbled, rubbing his neck "I've just never explored the place is all. I was flown directly to the academy by Bullhead straight from Patch"

"Oh, that makes sense" Velvet blushed and smiled before looking away "You know, we have to do something about that. This weekend, the team and i could take you into town if you want"

"And what about all my homework?" Ebris asked, eyeing Velvet mischievously. Any excuse to escape studying was a good excuse.

"I'll get the rest of the team to help you out on what you missed!" She said excitedly, looking over at him with a bright smile "What do you say?"

"I don't exactly need an excuse to skip studying" He snickered "Okay Velv. It's a date"

Velvet blushed a little at his last words but hid her blush and turned away from him.

"O-Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. I really need to find some way back to my dorm room"

"Okay, see you tomorrow"

Velvet took a calming breath and clenched her hands on her chest, walking over to the door of the roof. A last look over her shoulder at her latest teammate, and a smile crept onto her face.

'He really is special isn't he?'

She stopped dead in her tracks as Ebris suddenly called out to her.

"Hey Velvet? Why did you try to avoid me during the first week I was here?"

 **A/N**

 **Once again, thank you so much for reading!**

 **Got any tips for my writing or how to structure my chapters? make sure to leave a review and all that jazz.**

 **See you soon guys!**


	11. Chapter 11 - A Real Punch In The Gut

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 11 - Volume 1 - A Real Punch in The Gut_

The echoing sound of Velvet's footsteps through the hall on her way to the dorm hung heavy around her. Ebris had asked her that dreaded question that she was so afraid to answer, not only because of the consequences the answer might bring, but also because she was so confused about her own feelings, that she doubted she could give him a clear answer even if she wanted to.

Having not forgotten that she was out past curfew she made sure to look left and right as she approached a cross in the hall, making sure no one else was around, before she turned right around the corner and finally found the dorm room door. She quickly stepped inside and looked up sheepishly, Coco being the only one who arrived before herself. Fox, Yatsuhashi and Ebris, must have still been out and trying to get back.

"Hey Velv" Coco said with a soft smile, sitting on her bunkbed and already adorned in her usual sleepwear "You ready to hit the hay?"

"U-Uhm, yeah, sure" Velvet said shakily, still nervous from her encounter with Ebris "Just need to change into my uhm, s-sleepwear"

"Velvet are you okay?" Coco grew a concerned frown at Velvet's stammering "You seem nervous. More nervous than usual I mean"

Velvet sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Realizing that there was no point in trying to hide anything from her team leader, she decided to come forward and confess her confusing emotions.

"No, I'm not fine" Velvet walked over, her ears hanging low, as she sat on her own bunkbed underneath Cocos "I'm just really confused about something I doubt I can figure out on my own"

Coco smiled and jumped down from her bed before settling down beside Velvet.

"Tell me everything"

Velvet looked at her nervously, but nodded in reassurance. A team is supposed to help each other out, and she knew to trust in her leader. Coco was very wise for her age, and she was often the pillar of reassurance that Velvet needed whenever she was unsure of herself.

Velvet took a deep breath, tried to collect her thoughts, and begin to spill what she had been trying to figure out herself for the past several weeks.

"Okay so… I really don't know where to start. I've been experiencing a lot of confusing feelings lately, from jealousy, to loneliness, to genuine happiness and everything in-between. And I feel like I'm ripped apart by each of the three"

Coco nodded and smiled, letting Velvet continue with her spiel.

"Ever since Ebris joined CFVEY, I've doubted myself and asked myself about everything twice. I doubt whatever decision I make in regards to him, and whenever he's around I feel like my chest is about to explode. I don't know if I like him or not, but even if I do, I feel like I'm being childish. I mean, I've only known him for a few weeks after all! Something like that doesn't happen overnight!"

Velvet had begun to run along a tangent, but Coco allowed it, feeling like Velvet needed release from the thoughts that plagued her.

"I feel like it's going way too fast, and my head tells me I need more time to think things through, but the more time that goes by the more it hurts to be around him because I'm so confused and I don't know WHAT THE HELL TO DO!"

By the end of her spiel she had left herself short of breath and even Coco was surprised at Velvet's harsh tone towards herself in the end.

"I… I just need to be reassured. I just want this feeling to go away. I don't want to feel like that towards him if it means being even more nervous about everything than normal"

Coco smiled again. She herself had gone through that thought process, but had managed to move on from it. So she knew exactly what to do.

She draped an arm around Velvet's shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.

"Shh… Take a breath, Velv. It's gonna be alright" She whispered softly, trying to make Velvet relax.

Velvet teared up and nuzzled her face into her leader's shoulder, finding reassurance from her warm embrace before pulling away and taking a deep breath like instructed.

"I just need to know where all this came from, Velvet" Coco mumbled softly "Why are you suddenly acting like you're about to implode on yourself?"

Velvet sighed and let her gaze fall.

"Well, after we ran away from Goodwitch, Ebris and I ended up on the roof. And after some talking, he ended up asking me why I tried to avoid him the first week he arrived at Beacon"

"Oh right, I noticed that too. I was wondering about the same thing honestly"

Velvet nodded and sighed a deep sigh again.

"Right. And I wanted to answer him, but I honestly couldn't, because I don't even fully know myself. I feel like I wanted some space to figure things out on my own, but it's only become so much more confusing since then"

Coco nodded and gazed down at her lap, crossing one leg over the other as she tried to think of a game plan. Velvet grew a little nervous and impatient, but nevertheless allowed her leader to think stuff through.

Coco finally nodded to herself and smiled before turning her face towards Velvet and patting her shoulder.

"I'll figure something out, okay?"

"And there you have it guys. We might have a serious crisis here"

A couple of days later, Coco had gathered the others, RWBY, JNPR and CFV_Y, in the library of Beacon, for an emergency meeting. Weiss was disinterestedly gazing down at her scroll in her hand as the rest of her team was leaning over the table.

Jaune and Pyrrha were walking back and forth behind the huddled group of friends, trying to figure everything out.

"It sounds like someone has a bad case of 'Lover's Decease'" Yang said with a smirk "Why not just tell the dumbass that she likes him?"

"She told me it's because she doesn't want to distract him from his schoolwork and training" Coco said with a shrug "I guess she still feels guilty about his heart attack"

"I personally think its Ebris' fault in the first place" Weiss huffed, feeling like putting in her own thoughts to the conversation "He's about as oblivious as Jaune is"

"Wait, what do you mean?" Jaune mumbled in surprise, making the rest of the group collectively facepalm.

"Never mind that now" Pyrrha dismissed, a blush having crept onto her face "What do we do about Velvet and Ebris?"

"Hmm… Good question. Maybe we could-" Started Yang, when Jaune suddenly began panicking.

"Librarian!"

Everyone grabbed their books and began to pretend to be studying, the librarian turning a corner and shooting the group a nasty glare before heading off towards another section of the library, and out of sight, leaving the rather large group of students and friends to begin to relax with short sighs of relief. All except Weiss, who were sporting a satisfied smile.

"If you guys had actually studied, you wouldn't be in that predicament" She exclaimed proudly, her books stacked neatly beside her on the desk.

"Whatever, miss 'I can barely dance in these boots'" Ruby shot back "Admit it, you had just as great of a time as everyone else a few days ago"

"Well at least she found time for her studies" Blake intervened.

"Seriously guys, you're off track again!" Said Coco sharply "We were talking about Velvet and Ebris, remember!?"

Everyone nodded, and Ren sighed.

"Why do we even feel we should do anything?" Ren said softly "Not that I don't want to help, but I believe that in such situations, it is best to let people figure things out on their own"

"Even though one of those people is completely oblivious to what the other is feeling, and the other barely even has courage to talk to him in any normal situation" Yang interjected with a raise of an eyebrow.

"Okay, fair point, but all I'm saying is, they'll probably figure it out" Ren concluded.

A low chuckle from beside him warned him that Nora had gotten another of her famous lightbulb ideas.

"Not with me around, they won't!" She smirked, standing up and slamming her fists down on the table top "Friends and fellows, we have a new mission! We are gonna figure out a way to help them out!"

"but how?" Asked Pyrrha.

"By spying of course!" Nora laughed "Come on guys! I already bought all the equipment!"

"Wait, when did you have time to buy equipment for a spy mission?" Asked Ren, but was promptly ignored by Nora's rambling.

"And what would spying on him help at all?" Jaune asked silently as Nora proudly put one leg on the tabletop, looking like a general who were about to go to war.

"We figure out what he likes and then Velvet can use that to her advantage!" Nora said excitedly, making the bunny faunus hide behind her ears in embarrassment "Come on guys! This is the perfect opportunity!"

"OR," Blake interjected with a frown, having gotten enough of Nora's crazy antics "We could give them space, respect their privacy, and let them figure things out on their own."

The rest of the group was stunned by Blake's suddenly harsh tone. She was the kind of girl who only ever spoke her mind when she felt it was necessary, and very rarely raised her voice.

"Whoa, what got your panties in a twist, girly?" Yang asked with a smirk splitting her face up in two "You would think with all that smut you have hidden, you would be all over this!"

This comment made Blake blush past both her ears.

"It is not smut!"

"Whatever you say"

Yang popped a rock candy in her mouth and smirked up at the group.

"Don't worry guys. I got it"

"You, got it?" Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow "How?"

"Oh don't worry" Yang's smirk began to curl evilly "I have my ways of getting people to do what I want"

The next day, Ebris was packing his stuff into his bag after the last lecture of the day, Professor Port in full swing of putting away his blunderbuss after another lively story of his younger huntsmen days, when he noticed Yang waiting for him by the door.

"Hey, we never did have that sparring match, did we?" She asked, feigning casual disinterest as she leaned lazily on the doorframe "How about we figure out who's the strongest?"

"After what happened to me?" He looked up at her in surprise "I was just discharged from the hospital Yang! Do you honestly think this is a good idea?"

He quickly packed his stuff and prepared to leave. He knew how persuasive Yang could be once she had settled her mind on something, and he just needed to get away from her.

Yang looked back at her team with a smirk, her team ushering her to press on. She turned back towards Ebris and sported her best smug smirk as she jogged up next to him.

"What are you, chicken?" Yang taunted, folding her arms as wings and flapping them up and down "Buck buck buck!"

"Yang, no" Ebris mumbled, trying to hide a furious growl "It has nothing to do with my courage"

"Oh, is it because I'm a girl?" Yang asked, feigning playful insult "You know fully well that I can 'pull my punches'"

"I'm just gonna ignore that terrible pun" Ebris mumbled, repressing an exaggerated groan.

"Oh I get it!" Yang laughed mockingly "You're afraid Cardin is gonna see me kick your ass!"

This sentence stopped Ebris dead in his tracks, and made him shoot a deadly glare back at Yang.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me, edgelord" She smirked, crossing her arms over her chest defyingly "You're afraid to be humiliated in front of your friends, Cardin, and little Velvet. Isn't that right?"

Ebris' embarrassment cracked his angry front a bit, but he drew Sinistral and Dextral all the same, looking at Yang defiantly.

"I am gonna kick your ass!"

He rushed forward but yelped as Yang just laughed and grabbed him by the collar.

"Alright alright, come with me then!" She laughed as she dragged him along the hall "Let's go to the sparring arena!"

"Let go of me!" His arms and legs swinging and kicking wildly, making Yang laugh even more "Let go of me so I can kick your butt!"

Somewhere behind them, a certain orange haired boy smirked as he watched Yang drag off with Ebris. She was one of the strongest students among the first years, and nobody had managed to beat her in combat. He was sure it wasn't gonna change anytime soon. And he couldn't wait to watch Ebris have his ass handed to him.

"How about a little wager!? The loser has to do anything the winner says for a week!"¨

"That's a freaking deal! I am gonna kick your sorry butt all the way back to Patch!"

On the sidelines, their respective teams as well as Team JNPR, were watching with deadpanned expressions, Pyrrha's containing a tinge of worry.

"Are you guys sure we shouldn't break this up?" She whispered to Jaune, not wanting to break the two fighter's concentration "This could end badly you know?"

"As much as I want to, I don't think there's any stopping them" Jaune mumbled back, Ren nodding up at them from the seat in front.

"Nope. They're both too stubborn to listen to reason" he mumbled.

"Plus, I've actually been waging whether Yang or Ebris would win in a fistfight for a while now!" Nora laughed "50 bucks on Yang kicking Ebris' ass!"

"Hah, I'm in on that!" Ruby laughed as the two girls highfived.

Ebris lowered his posture and tightened his grip on his daggers before dashing forward with a forward thrust, Yang easily dodging to the side with a smirk before punching at the blunt side of Sinistral, pushing Ebris off damage and stumbling back.

She didn't give him time to recover and followed after, jabbing a few quick blows across his abdomen and chest, before he recovered and dodged, grabbing Yang's arm and pushing it upwards, and recoiling with a few slashes across her chest.

She retaliated by using the slash's momentum to whirl around and kick at the lower part of the back of his left leg. Collapsing on the ground with a grunt, he widened his eyes and rolled to the side just in time to dodge a powerful downwards punch on the ground. He gulped as he realized the ground which he had been laying on just moments before was cracked and sunken.

He growled and blocked another flurry of blows as he scrambled back on his feet, his daggers shaking in his hands. He struggled to block her powerful attacks, so in a desperate attempt to gain some footing, he activated his own semblance.

'Alright. Left hook, right uppercut, followed by a combo hit to the chest'

He smiled, yet panted in exhaustion, as he nullified his semblance and duck under Yang's left hook, making her widen her eyes in surprise. She followed with her right uppercut and a few meek attempts at hitting him dead center in the chest, but he smirked as he dodged every punch for a few seconds, before grabbing Yang's arm again, turning around and throwing her on her back onto the ground over his shoulder.

Rather than allow Ebris to continue his onslaught on her, she jumped back to her feet acrobatically, but was surprised to see Ebris fall back, and put some distance between the two of them. Possibly to catch his breath.

"Not bad, Xiao Long" Ebris smirked, wiping some sweat off his forehead "I'm impressed you can hold yourself that well against a second year"

"Please, you only got in on the headmaster's special permission" Yang retaliated, cracking her knuckles "Though I'm surprised. I thought for sure you would fall for that left hook"

"Guess you have to step up your game"

"Damn straight!"

She cocked back the top of her gauntlets, and to Ebris' massive surprise, fired shots directly at him! It was like Yang's gauntlets worked like shotguns, except these shots were redirected in midair to fly straight at him! He dodged the best he can, but the lower half of his body was caught in one of the explosions, leaving him sprawled on the ground and his aura taking massive damage.

"Argh… Damn! DOES EVERYTHING TURN INTO A GUN AROUND HERE!?"

He grunted and hit at the ground in frustration, before getting back up weakly. His aura must have been pretty depleted at this point, and if he didn't do something, he would lose for sure! He was even pretty sure that Yang hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

"So even distancing myself from her won't work" He mumbled, dodging another barrage of explosions "Then I need to go on the offensive!"

He dodged another shot and rushed forward, raising his daggers in feigned attack, making Yang raise her arms in defense. As she did he smirked and lowered his body in a slide, sliding under and behind her before slamming his arm backwards in a slash. To his surprise though, Yang had grabbed his arm mid-swing, and was smirking up at him with a vicious look in her eyes.

"Game over"

Before he could retaliate she raised his arm out of the way and hit him multiple times in his abdomen, several combos of powerful attacks leaving him breathless and unable to focus. Before he had even registered what had happened he found himself sprawled on the ground, and the blaring alarm over their heads calling the match to a close. He had lost.

He groaned and held his sore stomach muscles as he tried to get up, but was proved unable to. His legs simply refused to cooperate with him, and as such he stayed on his knees.

He hadn't even seen what happened, but judging from the pain resonating throughout his entire body, he would say that Yang had somehow gathered so much speed that she was able to hit him across all his vital points during a very short period of time. This basically forced him to take huge amounts of damage all at once, and that pretty much shattered what little aura he had left, leaving Yang as the victor of their brawl.

Yang smiled and stepped over to Ebris, holding a hand down to him in a friendly offer of help.

"Come on, get up" She said with a smile as she heaved him onto his feet.

"I… I don't understand…" Ebris mumbled in complete disarray "H-How the hell did you do that? How could you hurt me that badly, that fast?"

"It's my semblance" She smiled and Ebris noticed how her hair seemed to flare with a fiery aura, her eyes having turned blood red "the more damage I take, the faster and stronger I become"

She also showed her gauntlets, which she informed him was named Ember Celica.

"I might also be using the recoil of my gauntlets to speed up the direction I want" She explained "If I want a more powerful left hook, I shoot my gauntlet right at the moment I throw my punch, and let physics take care of the rest"

"That. Is. SO FUCKING COOL!" Ebris exclaimed as he held Yangs arm in admiration, staring down at Ember Celica as if he had just found the secret treasure of Atlantis.

A thought struck a certain red-hooded huntress as she stared at the two brawlers, biting her lower lip.

'Oh my GOD, he likes weapons too!'

She could tell from the way Ebris was staring at her sisters' weapons. He absolutely adored the power which they possessed, just like she herself had when Yang had shown her the plans she had drawn up for them back in huntsmen school.

'I need to know if he likes comics too!'

Yang smiled and explained to Ebris just why he lost.

"First off, you underestimated me dramatically" She said "I've seen you fight before, so I had a nice assessment of your skills. You on the other hand, have only ever seen me fight once, and that could barely be called a fight. I never even took it seriously"

Ebris nodded.

"Another thing is, that most other students have had professional huntsmen training from before they entered a proper huntsmen academy, either if it's from a parent, or an instructor in huntsmen school. You however, I assume, have only ever trained alone, correct?"

Ebris nodded again. Since he lived with a foster family, and they didn't have any money, he had never been able to join a huntsmen school and get any real training. So he had trained his coordination and speed on homemade training dummies in the back of his foster family's farmland.

"Don't worry, you're strong enough as is" She said with a smirk "But as a rule of thumb, never underestimate your opponent. I know that sounds weird coming from me, but trust me. I learned it firsthand"

Ebris smirked and nodded, clenching his fist in newfound determination.

"Right!"

Just as he had predicted, Ebris lost. Lost big time. He had even managed to record the whole thing on his scroll, much to his and his team's satisfaction.

"So any idea what to do with that footage, Cardin?" Sky asked with a sly smile, running his hand through his long hair as he and his team walked through the hall, having just exited the arena.

Cardin smirked and gazed down at his scroll, playing back and forth over the moment Yang's fist had firmly connected with Ebris' jaw, giving him quite the gelatinous look in slow motion as he was burst backwards with one of the funniest looks on his face Cardin could imagine.

"Oh I have several" He said, pushing a button to send the video to social media "Time for some payback"

 **A/N**

 **Hey guys, thank you once again for reading this chapter!**

 **So what do you think Cardin will use that footage for? Do you possibly have any ideas for me? Please let me know by leaving a review.**

 **Thank you so much for all the support you guys have given me, not just on my return to fanfic writing, but in general. I love you all, and I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as I humanly can!**

 **Thank you once again, and I hope to see you in future chapters!**


	12. Chapter 12 - Standing Up For Him

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 12 - Standing Up For Him_

Ebris groaned at that evenings dinner gathering in the dining hall, the first, second and third years eating separately, while the fourth years were mostly absent because they either had the privilege of being allowed to eat in their luxury dorms, or were out on huntsmen missions.

The reason for Ebris' groan was pretty simple. Since he had lost him and Yang's little brawl, he had officially become Yang's underling for an entire week. And the duration started this weekend.

He thoroughly regretted ever underestimating her, and he genuinely trembled at the thought of what she would make him do. Oh the embarrassment that must be coming. Yang was the type of girl who always loved pranks; she and Nora was a fearsome pair in that regard. Those paint stains had taken the entire weekend to wash out of his uniform.

But it was alone that she was a true cruel mastermind. Not that Nora didn't have a side to her, but Yang was just straight up perverted in some regards, and that often shined through in her stand-alone pranks. He was still trying to shake off the thought of Ruby's uncle Qrow, as Yang had described how he had worn a skirt to school first day as he thought it was a kilt.

And then she threatened to make Ebris dawn the same outfit for the sake of the females of the school laughing or fawning over him at the cost of his embarrassment.

That was all a few hours ago when she had beaten him. Who knew how many ideas, perverted or not, she could make up in that time? Maybe she even had some prepared just for the rare chance she got to control people like this?

His shuddering intensified as Velvet sat beside him and patted his back soothingly.

"I-It's okay. She really isn't all that bad" She mumbled softly, drawing soothing patterns on his back with her palm.

"You know, I would be inclined to believe you, but I really don't" Ebris said sarcastically, his voice muffled since he pressed his face against the tabletop.

"You better watch out, you better not cry~" Ruby sang with a bright teaseful smile "I bet she's gonna make you stand in the hallway with nothing but boxers! Yuck!"

"It's a bit early to be singing Christmas songs don't you think?" Ebris said sarcastically, having raised his head to glare at the teaseful huntress in training "Secondly, I use briefs, not boxers"

"Whatever, it'll be yucky!" She laughed as she howled down another slice of ham.

"Don't give Yang any ideas" Weiss mumbled as she took a bite of her scalloped potatoes with practiced grace "We don't want that to end up in the school paper"

"Oh it will alright?" Yang smirked, leaning her feet on the table and picking her teeth with a toothpick "No matter what it might be, I'll make sure to make it into the Beacon Academy history books!"

"Most malicious prank ever" Nora said in an announcers tone "Oh I can see it now! The press will be all over this one!"

"Please don't make it too explosive" Jaune hushed them "We're already in deep trouble for that late-night dance stunt we pulled"

Ebris groaned and rolled his eyes as he looked up at the others lazily.

"I wish I could go back in time" He whined as he sat back up properly despite his body screaming for him to stay down "Any defense mechanics you guys could share?"

Pyrrha giggled and shrugged indifferently at Ebris' frustration.

"I am sorry Ebris, but you sorta asked for this" She smiled, before she leaned her upper body on her arm on top of the table "You underestimated Yang, and lost big time. Hopefully this serves as a powerful lesson"

He groaned and hit his head against the table in a meek effort to give himself memory loss and forget everything about that humiliating loss.

"Urgh, somebody just end me already!"

* * *

Saturday rolled around, like Ebris had dreaded it would, and he groaned as his alarm clock blared at him that morning, signaling that it was already 10 AM. He hit the snooze button on his scroll and groaned.

Ebris had realized just how unwilling he was to get out of bed that morning, and no matter how much his mind screamed at him to get off his fat ass and just get it over with already, his body refused to listen, resulting in him staying in bed for a few extra minutes.

He finally reached for his scroll and looked down at the screen, a text from Yang greeting him a teaseful good morning:

"Good morning edgelord! I'll have to do some preparations for later this weekend, so let's meet up at the front gates this afternoon at 1 PM! Make sure to bring your best behavior! Can't have you groaning all the way through! ;)"

That one winky face at the end of the message only settled Ebris' fears further in stone. This week would be torture.

"What does she have to prepare though?" He had to admit he was a little curious "Whatever. At least I didn't wake up from a nightmare today"

He clearly remembered that he had had the nightmare at some point during the night, but for once he didn't wake up screaming and sweating. He wondered why that was, but the gentle light from outside the dorm room hurried him to get out of bed so he could push in some Saturday morning training, making him quickly forget his wondering.

He sighed and swung his legs over the edge of his bed, before stepping out onto the cool morning floor of the dorm. Despite his predicament, it was a beautiful morning today, the sun happily shining through the window, and warming up the cold shutter he had from exiting his warm bed. Being careful not to wake up the rest of his team, he quickly grabbed his casual set of clothes, and headed for the bathroom for a brushing of his teeth and setting his hair.

After doing the basics and freshening up, he grabbed his armor and headed down towards the arenas locker room to change. He was hoping to figure out just what had gone wrong against Yang yesterday.

"Maybe I should grab breakfast first?" He mumbled, but quickly dismissed it "Nah, a good workout will work up an appetite."

He had looked forward to get back into his training regimen, though of course this one was a lot softer on his psyche and body than anything he had ever been doing at Beacon before. He had to be careful now. He didn't want to be any further of a burden on his team than he had already, and training beyond his body's limits would only serve to damage him and the team's morale.

Pushing open the door to the locker rooms, he was sourly surprised to see Cardin and his team already there, currently changing into their fighting gear.

"Ah, Eachos! It's actually pretty convenient you're here!"

* * *

That morning when Velvet woke up as the first, she stretched and yawned, giving the back of her bunny ear a short scratch as she looked around the room. It looked the same as always, except the light rays falling in through the curtains clearly showed how dusty the air around them really was.

"We'll have to clean up soon…"

She caught herself stealing a glance over at Ebris, who was still sleeping peacefully in his bed at the other side of the room. Living up to the bunny stereotype, (You know the one) she had grown up with lots of siblings, so living with a group of boys wasn't anything new to her. But despite that fact she still felt nervous from time to time whenever she and Ebris were in the dorm room together.

Now that she looked at him she realized just how pained he looked. He was groaning slightly, and his face was twisting and twitching as if he was being struck with something. It must have been another nightmare. Walking over towards Ebris' bed, ignoring the cold feeling of the wooden floor underneath her feet, she used the edge of Yatsu's bed underneath Ebris' as a step-stool, and stepped up to take a look at Ebris. Yup. His scar was glowing too. Just like when he had his heart failure.

So this scar and past trauma had something to do with the fact that his skin was glowing. She felt like this should have raised more of an alarm than it had, but Ozpin apparently knew more than anyone in CFVEY did. Ozpin had achieved respect from his peers and his students, so she had no doubt in her mind that he knew what he was doing. But still…

She smiled silently and ran the back of her hand against his forehead. A cold sweat. She leaned forward and quietly sang a short tune:

 _Hush your cries, close your eyes, stay with me.  
Let's just dream, quietly, of what might be  
Calm you fear, I'll be near, to you I'll cling.  
Rest my friend, time can mend, many things_

As Velvet sang she brushed her fingers through Ebris' hair soothingly in slow and calming motions and patterns. His hair was wet with sweat, no doubt from the nightmare he was currently going through.

The song she was currently singing him was one that her mom had always sang to her whenever she was unable to sleep as a kid. Even now, whenever she had trouble sleeping, she would hum that tune and almost immediately feel more at ease.

"Wow, look at you two"

Velvet's ears perked up as she raised her head to look at who had spoken. It was Yatsuhashi, who had just sat up from his deep sleep, and was now smirking at Velvet as he watched her calm Ebris down from his own bunkbed.

Velvet could immediately feel her neck and face heat up in intense embarrassment, but despite this she puffed out her cheeks in a pout and continued to sing gently to Ebris, who gradually calmed down and fell into a deep slumber.

"Wow… you actually did it" Yatsu mumbled, genuinely impressed "I've never seen him sleep so calmly…"

She smiled and tugged him in, a sense of pride rising in her chest.

"Well if I can't tell him my feelings, might as well do my best to help and protect him instead" She said softly, taking a final gaze over Ebris before jumping off the bed.

She smiled proudly before heading to the bathroom to change into her casual wear and get ready for the day.

"I'm heading out!"

Yatsu barely even managed to reply before Velvet was out of the door, a heavy silence hanging in the air, manifested from her sudden leave. Yatsu released a breath and smiled to himself.

"You really have changed Velvet…"

About an hour and a half later after breakfast and some light studying at the library, Velvet went to the dorm room to grab her combat gear to go train. As she stepped inside the room she noticed that Ebris' bed was empty, and his combat gear, that usually had its spot in the windowsill, was gone as well. Had he really managed to freshen up and go to the training range before she got back?

She had honestly expected him to sleep a lot longer, since his nightmares usually tuckered him out past normal tiredness. But then again, it's Ebris she was talking about.

Suddenly, Velvet was in a hurry, and quickly grabbed her training gear. The idea of training with Ebris was exciting to her, since the team always trained as a group, even before Ebris came to the school. Just the two of them training… Nothing would be better.

Her excitement was mixed with a sense of nervousness as she trotted through the school halls and when she finally approached the locker rooms of the training area, these emotions had grown to a new maximum.

The excitement she had felt had quickly turned to fear, a fear of goofing something up or maybe seeming silly under training.

She shook her head and frowned at her own nervousness, a problem she had always had to deal with since she was a child. She was sick of it, annoyed by it even.

"Just stop overthinking it, you'll be fine" She convinced herself.

She was about to push open the door to the female locker room, when she heard an all too familiar voice ring out from the other locker room.

"Now Eachos, how about some payback for last time, huh!?"

"Ebris?" Velvet muttered his name as she silently approached the boys' locker room door and peaked inside.

She frowned in horror as she witnessed Ebris surrounded by Cardin and the rest of team CRDL, the same way they had surrounded her countless of times whenever they felt like picking a fight. Just remembering how scared she had felt made her grit her teeth in anger, and to see this happening to Ebris now made it hurt even worse!

She growled and was about to walk in to put herself between them and Ebris, when Cardin held up his scroll and began playing a video clip. Ebris seemed stunned as the video showed him and Yang in a high speed fight, Ebris not holding up against her attacks as well as he might have wanted.

"Hehehe, nice to see all that hot air has finally left the balloon" Cardin smirked "Either you do exactly as we say, or this ends up everywhere on social media. What do you think Ozpin will think of you trashing his school's good reputation?"

Ebris didn't reply. He was tense, his fists balled up in anger as he was at a loss for words. Velvet understood why. Ebris felt like he held a sense of responsibility to be a good student and to represent the school proper. Who knew how Cardin could make the video look in the view of the public eye?

"Okay fine… I'l do as you-!"

"Ebris don't!"

Velvet suddenly felt herself calling out and was suddenly pushing herself through Cardin's man-made wall, standing beside Ebris and spreading out her arms to put as much of a wall between Ebris and Cardin as possible.

"Velvet!? What the hell are you-!?"

"Y-You're my teammate Ebris" She could feel her knees buckle and her voice shake and break. Nevertheless she stood tall "We're supposed to be there for each other right?"

Ebris looked at her shocked, but smiled and nodded silently. He didn't know who or what had started it, but Velvet had changed somehow since he got there. She was standing to stand up to herself, as opposing to when he first met her, where he literally had to save her from being bullied by Cardin and his team. Ironically, she was doing the same thing for him now.

"So, the bunny girl decides to spring in to save her boyfriend, huh?" Cardin smirked and took an intimidating step forward "Don't make me rip your ears out, bunny girl"

Velvet whimpered and backed away in fear, sparking a flame of anger in Ebris.

"Threaten her again and I'll break your nose Cardin!"

"Oooh, scary" He smirked and played and twirled with his scroll between his fingers "So what is it gonna be Ebris?"

Ebris and Velvet looked over at each other for a short moment, a distinct agreement seeming to run between them without as much as a word ushered. In what seemed like only seconds Ebris had burst forward and jabbed quickly and powerfully at Cardin's arm, making him drop his scroll in pain.

When Cardin punched forward in retaliation, Velvet pushed past Ebris and grabbed Cardin's arm, putting it into a painful lock before whirling herself around and pushing Cardin into his minions, making them stumble away and giving the two of them more space.

"Back off Cardin!" Ebris growled intimidatingly, He and Velvet both posing fighting stances "Either you do that, or I break your scroll!"

The scroll in question was now lying on the floor behind the pair, and Ebris clenched his fists as he stepped backwards cautiously and picked it up, keeping a watchful eye on Cardin and his group as he accessed it with a quick swipe.

"I appreciate the neglect of code locking your phone, Cardin" He couldn't help but let a victorious smirk run across his lips "Makes deleting your blackmail real easy"

Cardin growled, Sky, Dove and Russel looking up at him as if mentally asking him what the hell to do. Velvet looked up at Ebris, looked at the way he was smirking at Cardin's misfortune. He enjoyed seeing Cardin like this. This struck her like a lightning bolt. Ebris got a kick out of watching Cardin in a lower position than himself. Was it spite or… was it something more sinister?

"E-Ebris come on… Let's just destroy the phone and get to training already.."

Ebris looked over at Velvet and nodded before looking over at Cardin.

"So, either you leave me alone from now on, or I destroy your scroll and report you and your little underlings to the teaching staff for harassment and blackmailing"

"W-Where's your-!"

"And before you ask where my proof is, I already send the videos to my own scroll, edited version and unedited. If you ever come near me or my team again, I will have you receive so many punishments from Glenda that you will see numbers in front of your eyes for weeks. Is that understood?"

Ebris stomped the ground, a crack forming in the tiles. He was so intimidating that he almost looked like he was physically growing taller and stronger, while Cardin and his team were shrinking and falling back in fear. They didn't even respond, neither ask for the scroll back before they scrambled and pushed to get out of the locker room, the fear painted on their faces.

As their echoing footsteps finally began to fade down the hall, Ebris sighed and leaned against a wall, his intimidating act from earlier deflating from him like air from a balloon. He slid down the wall and pulled his legs up under him tiredly, before flashing Velvet a short smile.

"Whew… thanks for the assist Fluffy…" He laughed, a pearl of sweat running down his forehead as he tried to keep his breathing in control.

"I already told you, my name is not-!"

She had begun to puff herself up to scold him, but as she got a proper look at him, she fell silent. He was tired? Almost exhausted. Just ramping up his own bravado tuckered him out this much?

"Ebris, you're exhausted" She mumbled, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to show concern "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine… Gonna be fine anyway…" He mumbled.

He looked more like someone who had ran a marathon rather than standing up to a group of bullies, and Velvet could tell why. His heart failure and the trip to the hospital had put him so out of his routine that the smallest amount of exertion was enough to put him out of commission.

"Come on, let's get back to the dorm okay?" Velvet said, as she helped him get back to his feet "You need more rest"

"Hehe…" A tired chuckle left his lips "As much as I hate to admit it… I really am down for the count…"

"You were awesome though" Velvet said, draping Ebris' arm around her shoulders to carry most of his weight "Jesus, you would think that hospital trip would have cut off some of your weight"

"Are you calling me fat?" He asked playfully.

"N-No!" She yelped as she realized how that had sounded "j-Just that you're ripped! All that muscle… W-Wait, no!"

She closed her eyes tightly and sighed at her own stupidity. Why did she always end in situations like this?!

"Hey, Velvet, I know what you mean" He chuckled "Let's just get back to the dorm"

Velvet noticed that in her embarrassed stupor she had halted to move forward at all, and now they were just standing in the middle of the hallway, some other students looking in their direction.

Velvet's face flared up and she hurried to heave him onward, just wanting to escape the public and go hide away in the dorms.

'Besides… If he's there, I don't think it'll be too bad to be isolated from everything else'

This thought ran through her mind and a smile formed on her face as they continued pushing on, back to the dorms.

 **A/N**

 **Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed yet another chapter of RWBY - The Strength of Revenge!**

 **So I know it's been a while since I uploaded last time, but real life has really been a bitch lately, taking up way too much of my time.**

 **Working on my youtube channel and dealing with school and different issues in my life has honestly been pulling my attention away from writing, but you guys know me. It might take a bit, but I always come back eventually.**

 **Anyway, as a way to repay you guys for the endless support, I might have planned to write a few Bumblebee and White Rose shipping chapters the next few times, so be prepared!**

 **See you guys next time!**


	13. Chapter 13 - Lost

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 13 - Volume 1 - Lost_

It was the following Saturday as Ebris, Yang, team JNPR, and the rest of both of their teams were walking through the streets of Vale. A bright blue skied day, with only the rarest of clouds dotting the vast blue veil that hanged above them. It was a beautiful summer afternoon, with just the right weather. Perfect, thought Yang.

She had already gone through her plan with both her own team and team CFV_Y and JNPR, and she had been stoked to put it into motion all morning. She looked over at Coco, who nodded and smiled knowingly. The plan was about to begin.

"Okay! Ebris, I need you to do something for me!"

Yang had turned to Ebris with that trademark smirk and he groaned and stood ready for whatever hellish torture she was about to put him through. He looked left and right, considered whether or not he should flee down one of the busy Vale side streets, or through one of the tightly packed human crowds. Maybe disguise himself as a merchant selling wares?

But no, he decided to settle against the idea. If he tried to run, they would only catch up to him eventually. Blake was basically a ninja, able to follow along at all times, Yang was too fast for him whenever she accelerated with her Ember Celica, and he didn't even wanted to get started with Ruby and her Speed.

Plus, Yang had made his team promise to punish him thoroughly with having to do their homework in case he tried anything to escape.

So he decided to stand his ground and suck it up as he prepared for what was ahead.

"What is it, Yang?" He asked with a defeated sigh.

Yang bit her lip, and on the inside, she was dancing in place like a kid about to open their birthday presents. This was going to be amazing!

"Ever heard of the chicken dance?"

"The chicken-what-now?"

Ebris sounded befuddled. She smirked and with a quick motion swiped her scroll out of her pocket, searching up a video on YouDust.

Ebris' jaw quickly fell to the ground as he watched the video.

"no. No no no!"

"Oh yes boy! You're going into that crowd, and you are gonna do the chicken dance in front of everyone!"

"B-But my reputation! What about the _school's_ reputation!?"

He stumbled for any excuse he could find. No way in hell was he doing that in front of complete strangers.

"Like I give a damn right now!" Yang laughed, looking around at the group "Plus, we're not representing our school right now. This is a free day!"

It was true, everyone was in their casuals, and despite the fact that they were huntsmen in training, people likely wouldn't recognize him if he made a public fool of himself.

Velvet felt bad for him as he stood there, looking like he was about ready to leave Vale on the first Bullhead. But at the same time, she knew why they were doing this. It was to help her.

Yang had told her about the entire thing the day before she went to spar with Ebris, and velvet, after a lot of persuasion, reluctantly agreed on the plan. Now she was watching Ebris uncertainly, wondering if he was actually going to do as Yang told him.

She didn't mind if people called her selfish for making him do this. She felt like she was growing insane from keeping her confusing feelings a secret. These were feelings she had never felt before. A confusing mix of nervousness, affection, passion and anxiety boiled down to something that she had fought with herself to figure out what was for weeks now. It tortured her. It even kept her up at night at times. Often actually.

Ebris groaned and turned around to move through the crowd. Once he was a fair bit away, he began dancing the embarrassing dance, earning several glances and weird looks from people around him. Yang laughed loudly and almost couldn't stand on her feet as she watched him clap his hands and wiggle his hips.

"This is fucking priceless!" She laughed loudly, before turning to the group with a scheming expression "Alright guys, let's get the hell out of here!"

They nodded, some wearing distinct mischievous smirks, and others unsure, guilty expressions, as they scrambled to gather together and disappear in the crowd down a nearby side street.

Ebris sighed and looked up as he flapped his arms like chicken wings.

"Yang? How long do I have to do this!?"

He widened his eyes in confusion and stopped at a standstill as he realized that he could no longer spot any of the others, having suddenly been left alone in the middle of the crowd.

"Wait what!? WHAT THE HELL GUYS!?"

He swirled around, getting angrier by the second as he couldn't see them in any direction he looked. So they made him dance that embarrassing dance just to up and leave him!?

"Grrr, I swear am gonna kill Yang for this!" He growled furiously as he pushed through the crowd and down a random street in an effort to find the others.

Velvet was looking around unsurely as Coco led the charge into her favorite boutique in the city, a confident smile on her lips as she led Velvet and the rest of the group around. Coco quickly turned to Ren and Nora, asking them to stand guard and keep watch for Ebris at the entrance, to which she quickly got a determined salute from Nora, and a soft nod from Ren.

"Was the chicken dance really necessary Yang?"

Weiss scolded the blonde brawler sternly, but not without a smile on her lips, unable to keep her mask on as she remembered the hilarious display she had witnessed as the rest of the group made their way into the shop.

"Of course it was necessary ice queen"

Yang smirked, ignoring the irritated "Hey!" from Weiss as she stomped her heel at the nickname.

"We needed Ebris out of the way. And just leaving him at Beacon would have seemed too suspicious"

"And this didn't?" Jaune asked, in doubt of Yang's plan "Seriously, he's gotta know something is up by now"

"It's not like he's gonna figure out what it is" She smirked in response "Trust me Jaune, my plans are always straight up Yanging"

As she had expected, the group groaned at her terrible pun, and she bowed elegantly.

"Thank you, thank you!" She laughed "I'll be here all week!"

"Guys, focus" Coco said softly as she put a hand on Velvet's shoulder "We need to find a cute dress for little Fluffy here"

Velvet groaned even louder at the nickname than she had at Yang's pun, leaning her head back dejectedly.

"First off, my name is Velvet" She pouted "Second of all, I really doubt I can find anything in here I can actually afford"

"Are you kidding me?" Yatsu said as Fox smirked "We're all helping to pay for whatever you get"

"What!?"

Velvet stared around at the group who only smiled or smirked in return.

"Are you serious guys!?"

"Of course we're damn serious!" Yang said excitedly, pumping her fist in the air proudly "You're our friend. We want to help you with this"

Velvet could feel the urge to cry well up in her and she quickly checked if tears had formed in the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. Confirming this was not the case, she smiled happily as she looked around at the group once more.

"Let me at least put in my own part then" She said softly, bringing out her purse "This place gotta be crazy expensive"

"Please, I could cover the dress on my own if I wanted to" Coco laughed softly "But I get it. I'll let you help… this time"

She added the last time with a wink and a smirk and Velvet couldn't help but giggle at her sly smile as she nodded, for a moment forgetting to mind the fact that her ears was flopping back and forth as a result.

After she and Coco had broken off from the group to go find the perfect dress, and Weiss had joined them since she was certain her sense of fashion was of great contribution to the quest ahead, Ruby wrinkled her nose uncertainly as she gazed around on the many outfits and pieces of clothing that seemed overly disinteresting to her.

"Okay so one thing I am uncertain of…" Ruby mumbled, seeming a little bored at being in this fancy clothing shop "Is exactly what we're using this dress for"

"Oh it's not only the dress, Ruby, my dear" Yang smirked "We're giving Velvet a full makeover."

"Okaaay, but for what?" Ruby asked again.

"Oh dear sister, let me explain"

Yang said this in that overly dramatic sense, draping an arm around Ruby's shoulders as they watched Velvet, Coco and Weiss walk through the different aisles of dresses and other clothes.

"My dear sister, when you get to a certain age, you get to feel what it's like to fall in love for the first time"

Ruby wrinkled her nose even more and let out a disgusted "Yuck" while Yang chuckled and continued.

"I am afraid that time has come for poor Velvet"

Yang swung out her hand melodramatically and spoke with her most dramatic voice.

"So she needs this makeover and dress to try and vow Ebris at the school ball in a few months!"

"It's actually quite romantic now that you think about it"

Blake mumbled softly, having for a moment pulled herself away from the book she had brought along with her.

"A gentle dance and fruit punch underneath the blaring lights of the dance floor… Feelings spring forth, and before they know it… They hold each other in each other's embrace under the moonlight in the garden, hoping to never have to let go of each other again"

Blake blushed as she realized she had been daydreaming out loud, and looked away from the group uncertainly. She had always had a habit of daydreaming, but almost never talked about her romantic fantasies out loud. Yang found it endearing, fascinating even, how Blake had the ability to let her mind travel to another world, to, just for a moment, forget about the dangers and troubles that plagued her every day.

Yang almost wished she had the ability to forget about everything for a moment. To settle down and just relax, get comfortable with a good book in front of the open fire, and a guilty snack to have something between her free fingers. But she had way too much energy for that. Instead she would fight, train, and then fight some more, taking out her frustrations on whatever poor soul may cross her way.

Her train of thought was derailed as she felt a poke on her shoulder, the offending finger belonging to Blake, who was suddenly standing by her side and sending her a concerned look.

"Yang? Are you alright?"

Yang took a moment to look around and realized that the rest of the group had moved on, leaving only her and Blake alone to stand near the entrance of the shop.

"O-Oh, yeah, sorry for worrying you Blake" Yang smirked apologetically "Just spacing out."

Yang dismissed her and nodded over towards the group.

"Come on, let's get over there."

"Coming"

Blake followed along with the same worried expression, but decided to drop it for now. Yang would just have to come out and talk about whatever was plaguing her mind when she was ready. Wishing to give Yang her space, Blake trailed a bit behind before they headed towards the changing rooms.

"G-Guys, are you really sure about this?"

Velvet was standing inside the changing room, hiding her frame from view as she stuck her head out from behind the curtain. Her shoulders were free, that much was visible. But everything else was only visible as a faint blurry shadow behind the irritatingly effective curtain.

This thought coursed through Coco's mind as she ushered Velvet to come out and finally end the suspense.

"Come on Velvet, I'm sure you look lovely in it!" She ushered, trying to take Velvet's reluctant hand "You don't have to be shy"

Velvet's heart was pounding a million miles per minute. The nervousness she constantly felt, that damn nervousness she wished she could send to hell and never let it return, was now hanging over her head worse than ever before. And this was only because she was about to reveal herself to her group of friends, people that meant a lot to her. She could only imagine what it would feel like when she did the same with Ebris.

She took a deep breath and decided that that was enough stalling, before she finally let go of the curtain and let it fall to the side, revealing her frame to her friends. Weiss and Coco smirked proudly, looking at what Velvet was sure both of them considered their "Masterpiece" as she stepped out and shyly held her hand on her opposite arm. She looked around.

Yatsu and Fox's jaws hung wide open, Jaune and Pyrrha were staring at her like deer blinded by the front light on a car, Blake and Yang were smiling happily, and even Ruby seemed impressed despite her lack of interest in clothing.

Velvet was clad in a long black shoulderless dress that hugged her body almost perfectly, the long black skirt swaying around her legs in a graceful manner. The small jewel stones that were imbedded into the dress in a gentle curve upwards, ending on her hip, were gleaming proudly as she stepped forward, a dark red blush on her uncertain expression as she clutched a black leather handbag between her fingers nervously.

"Holy crap…"

Yang was the first to usher a word in the group as she realized that it really was Velvet standing in front of her. The normally shy and reserved bunny girl was standing there and looking like she had just come from a movie premier, or were going to meet James Bond at some fancy 5 star restaurant.

Coco wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of her eye and clapped her hands together in excitement.

"I am a GENIUS!"

"WE are geniuses!" Weiss corrected "We did this together after all"

Velvet's ears were hanging low nervously as she looked around at the group.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"Of course" Coco reassured her once again "The main point of doing this is to make you more confident in yourself. The more you dare to overstep your boundaries, the more used you get to exposing yourself"

Velvet nodded softly and thought the whole thing through. What she told her made sense, but at the same time, Velvet was having a hard time imagining ever having any sort of confidence in herself or her abilities. That was also one of the reasons she had leaned on Ebris. He made her feel confident. Confident like no one else could. And she had already been with the other three for a year.

"How do you feel, Velvet?"

Pyrrha asked this curiously as she looked up and down Velvet's frame. It was almost like the dress was fabricated exactly to Velvet's measurements, judging from how well it looked on her.

"I feel… exposed"

Velvet's voice was soft and quaky. Pyrrha knew what she meant. Her shoulders and collarbone was completely free from any sort of strap or dress shoulders, and a long open gash along the right side of her dress skirt left her right leg exposed, almost to the exact point where her hip connected with the rest of her body.

"Is it comfortable to wear though? Does it need retailing?"

"N-No, it fits perfectly" Velvet said insistently, taking a step forward.

"Good. Next on the list is perfume and hair" Coco said with a smirk "Luckily I know all the shops in this district like the back of my hand!"

Coco was beaming as Velvet changed back into her casual clothes, and they walked to the counter to help pay for the dress.

"That will be 15000 Lien, miss"

The group almost toppled over at this declaration. 15000 Lien!? Velvet didn't even make that much money in half a year!

Coco however, smiled casually and brought out her card, swiped it over the pad, and accepted the purchase.

"Coco, you seriously need to tell me what rich family you're from" Fox mumbled in shock "Shared between all twelve of us… that will be… uhh…"

"1250 Lien, I believe" Velvet said with a relieved sigh "I'm suddenly happy that you guys are helping me pay"

The group laughed and went on their way, happy talk and casual pleasantries between them.

Meanwhile, in the opposite end of town, Ebris was continuously growing more and more frustrated at his abandonment. He was tired, his feet hurt, he had been walking around for 30 minutes now, and he was so lost that he doubted he would find his way back to the academy within the next few days.

His frustration getting the better of him, he sighed as he sat down at the edge of a fountain, splashed some water in his face, and tried to bring his thoughts back on track between all the mental death threats he was sending Yang's way.

He ran a hand through his hair and frowned as he looked up at the moving crowds. From where he was sitting, a few tens of meters away, isolated, it almost looked like the big mass of people was one entity all on its own, with an arm here, and another limb there. Everything grew into a haze as he was lost in his thoughts.

Just as he was about to give up and ask for directions back to the academy, he heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, he raised a curious eyebrow as a woman he had never seen before, approached him with a sly smirk. Eyeing her, he noticed her dark grey outfit, looking like a school uniform he did not recognize.

Her ashen dark hair cascaded over her shoulder as her amber eyes seemed to blink with mischievousness. The sound of her high heels turned his attention to her slender legs, and he noticed her jeweled anklet around her right leg.

"Hey there" The smirk on her lips grew a little "You look like you could use some help"

 **A/N**

 **Try to guess who just approached Ebris. You get a cookie if you get it right!**

 **Anyway, thanks again for reading this episode of RWBY: The Strength of Revenge! I always appreciate your support.**

 **See you guys next time!**


	14. Chapter 14 - Your First Mission

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 14 - Volume 1 - Your First Mission_

"Who… are you?"

Ebris found himself stunned for words as he stared up at the beautiful woman in front of him, his staring making her smirk grow ever wider. There was something dangerous to her smirk, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.

The way she stood, the way she gazed down at his seated position by the fountain, and how her eyes almost seemed to glow. It all radiated an intense aura of confidence, one that he had only ever felt from people like Yang or his own team leader. He still couldn't help but feel like there was a dangerous tinge to her confidence though.

He tried to keep a leveled expression as a gentle chuckle emanated from the woman in question.

"Why so suspicious? I only wish to help you after all" She said with a piercing gaze.

"My parents always told me not to talk to strangers" He said, half joking.

This resulted in another chuckle from the woman, whose smile only seemed to grow as she offered him her hand.

"Cinder Fall."

Cinder huh? He couldn't exactly say he had heard the name before, but he still felt like he needed to keep his distance.

"Ebris. Thanks but, I think I can figure this out on my own"

He stood up and stretched, ignoring Cinder's outstretched hand and looking up into the sky momentarily. As he looked back down his eyes widened comically and he almost jumped back as he realized that Cinder had come even closer, not even a meters distance between the two of them.

"That's a nice name" She smirked up at him.

He felt his heartbeat begin to race in his chest as he starred into her amber eyes. Was she flirting with him?

"Ebris, don't be so suspicious of me" She chuckled softly "I just want to help. Where are you trying to go?"

The earlier haze, mixed with the surprise he had just fallen into, made his head spin a little bit. He could feel his face heat up a little from how close the woman was, and he imagined just what this looked like to the people around the two of them.

"Uhh, well…"

His throat was dry and he had a hard time forming words.

"I was here with my friends, but…" He sighed, sending another death threat to Yang in his thoughts "They seem to have abandoned me, and won't answer their scrolls"

"Oh really? That's too bad…"

A mischievous and teasing pout formed on Cinders features as she chuckled.

"I don't understand why they would abandon such a handsome guy"

Yeah okay, she was definitely flirting with him. Whether or not it was for him or some ulterior motive though, he could not tell.

"Don't you have your own stuff to take care of?" He said, a little annoyed at Cinders continued attempts at advancement "I'll just go back to the academy and…"

"Oh! You live at Beacon academy?"

She smirked and Ebris nodded dejectedly.

"That makes this easy then. I'm going to Beacon too"

"O-Oh… really now?"

He internally cursed at this bit of information, hoping that this sort of charade wouldn't become the norm back at Beacon. He already had enough trouble with homework and training as is, he didn't feel like dealing with whatever she had planned.

"I know the way to the Bullhead Station, I'll take you straight to the academy!"

"Uhh… S-Sure…"

After a long walk down to the bullhead station and an even longer trip through the dorms they finally arrived back at Team CFVEY's dorm room, and Ebris sighed internally of relief. He had had to deal with Cinders constant flirting and advances on the way back, and every second felt like it lasted longer than the last one.

He put his hand on the doorknob and smiled over at Cinder in an attempt to finally get some space.

"Alright, thanks for your help!"

"Nice to meet you Ebris" Cinder winked and turned away as she headed down the hall "I'll see you around"

He sighed silently and nodded to himself regrettably. Just what he had feared. Great. Something told him that the woman he had just met wouldn't give up on something once she had set her sight on her goal.

As Cinder had turned away from Ebris and left him to his own devices, she couldn't help but smirk. Though this time there was no playful flirtation behind her smile. It was filled with malice and an evil intent.

"Yes, I'll see you very soon little Eachos…"

* * *

After a few more hours of shopping, the group of friends in the town of Vale felt satisfied with what Velvet had chosen for hair and perfume, and Coco smiled as she made an appointment with the hairdresser on the day of the dance, before they left the shop behind and walked back the way they came, several shopping bags in hand.

"I only got that one dress" Velvet smiled as she held her bag close to her chest "If you hadn't spent so much time being distracted, we could have gotten Ebris a lot sooner, Weiss! You too Coco!"

Weiss huffed and looked over at Velvet with a hint of a dignified smile.

"I could not waste a chance like that" She said with a smile "Plus, I only went on this trip and ignored my pending homework for the sake of getting to buy stuff myself"

"Keep telling yourself that, ice queen" Yang smirked "You just don't want to admit that you kinda, maybe, want to help your friend Ebris out"

"W-Wha!? I do not!"

Yang rolled her eyes and shrugged dismissively.

"Whatever you say" She said teasefully "Anyway, time to text Ebris and figure out where he's gone to. Prepare for a shitstorm!"

Everyone pulled out their scrolls and logged onto the private chat they had established, before Yang started typing.

 _Gauntlet: Hey dude! Where are you at? We'll come pick you up!_

"Is that casual tone really appropriate Yang?" Blake asked with a frown "I mean, you did abandon him in a busy city plaza looking like an idiot"

"First off, WE abandoned him in a busy city plaza looking like an idiot" Yang laughed at the memory "And second of all, we need to keep this casual in order to not arouse suspicion!"

Not long after she had finished talking, the small sound of an arrived message rang from everyone's scroll.

"Jesus Christ…" Yang's eyes widened comically at the message coming from Ebris "I don't even think I can read that one out loud…"

"What do you mean Yang?" Ruby asked, having not yet looked at her scroll "Let me see!"

"Nope! This profanity is not for pure souls!" Yang yelped as she pulled her scroll away from her sister, and typed out the next message.

 _Gauntlet: Yo, chill dude. It was just for a little fun. Where are you right now?_

 _Tenebris: I'm back at the academy! You guys are so fricking lucky that someone helped me to the Bullhead station!_

 _Bunny hop: Wait, someone escorted you to the bullhead station? Who?_

 _Tenebris: Some exchange student. She said she was going to Beacon as part of the Vytal Festival, and could help me get back to the dorms._

 _Crescent: The power of helpfulness strikes again!_

 _White Sword: My god. I don't know what's worse, your knowledge of Grimm, or your directional memory._

 _Tenebris: Shut it, ice queen!_

 _Mulan: Though it was quite humorous seeing you dance like that, Ebris._

 _Tenebris: Oh god, not you too Ren!_

 _Hot chocolate: Anyway, we're coming back, so just stay put in the dorms! See you soon Ebris!_

 _Tenebris: Will do. Oh and Yang?_

 _Gauntlet: Yeah?_

 _Tenebris: I'll kill you for this!_

Yang chuckled and put her scroll back in its usual place before looking around at everyone else.

"You think he's mad?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and looked up at her sister.

"You think? He threatened to kill you, you know"

"Oh sissy, you should know better" Yang threw an arm around Ruby's shoulder as they began walking down the street "You know he can't touch me"

* * *

The next few weeks turned out to be quite stressful for Ebris and his team. Midterm exams were coming up, and Ebris had still not caught up to everyone else when it came to studying. He had worked his butt off to finally begin making dents in the mountains of homework he had to do, and he had finally managed to clear everything within Grimm studies. Now, it was physics and biology.

"Urgh… just five minutes off, please…" he groaned, his eyes heavy, as he leaned sleepily over his text book "Please, just five minutes…"

"Sorry Ebris, but I cannot allow you to do so" Weiss said sternly as she paced around the room "Now can you show me what the four equations of motion looks like?"

Ebris groaned and scanned over the page for what must have been the fiftieth time. When he couldn't find the equations, he looked in his notes. The numbers were swimming in front of his eyes as he finally pinpointed the four equations that Weiss had asked for.

"Good" She smiled a little "Maybe you can actually do this after all"

The rest of their teams were both down at the library to group study for the exams, and Weiss and Ebris had therefore been left alone to their private tutoring. Ebris was genuinely happy that Weiss cared to take time out of her busy schedule to help him with his studies, but in his fits of frustration over his trouble pinpointing the different steps of microbiology or how to separate white blood cells from human blood, he forgot to properly show his gratitude.

His latest fit had resulted in a broken study desk and a shattered lamp.

Ebris was about to raise his voice against the white dressed ice queen, when a soulful lullaby emanated from somewhere close, making both Weiss and Ebris look around in wonder. A quick listen and Weiss realized that the beautiful melody was emanating from the bedroom wall, and they both halted the study session to press their ears to the wall and listen in.

The melody was simple, a ballad, slow and gentle, yet sharp and clear. The singing that accompanied it seemed to belong to a boy, and Ebris widened his eyes as he realized who it might be.

"Isn't that Jaune?" He asked Weiss.

"It sounds like it" She pondered "Who knew he could play?"

Ebris nodded and continued to listen, while Weiss continued to ponder to herself. The soft and gentle music that emanated from, what she assumed was Jaunes acoustic guitar, was not at all perfect, but it still somehow resonated to her. The way that Jaune's voice mixed and resonated along with the gentle stringing was soothing to her, relaxing in a way that she had never felt relaxed before.

She could never have imagined that Jaune Arc, the goofy, dense headed, and sometimes even reckless teenager, could have made her feel this way, if she hadn't felt it upon her own body.

"Damn that boy's got rhythm" Ebris smirked triumphantly "How does he not have a girlfriend yet? I thought girls loved guitar guys"

This was mostly a joke to Ebris, but he did feel jealous on what he felt must be described as a musical talent. He stood up and stepped towards the door, when Weiss spoke up.

"Shouldn't we just let him play?" Weiss mumbled.

"Oh? You like it, Ice Queen?"

A playful smirk ran across Ebris' lips as his hand remained on the doorknob. A blush immediately sprouted up on Weiss' cheeks, no matter how much she continued to try and keep it down.

"I-It has nothing to do with that!" She said annoyed "First off, you're supposed to be studying. Second of all, it would be a shame to disturb him now"

"Suit yourself" Ebris' smirk only seemed to grow wider as he opened the door "I'm gonna go and ask if I can listen to him instead of listening through a wall like a weirdo"

This only served to make Weiss' explosion of blushing intensify, and before she could yell at him for calling her a weirdo, he quickly left and knocked on the door to JNPR's dorm room, a quick call of accept sounding from inside.

Ebris smiled as he entered and watched the blonde boy sit upon his bed, strumming the strings of the dark wooden guitar with his fingertips. Jaune looked up with a smile, leaning back a little and getting into a more comfortable position on the top of his mattress.

"Hey Ebris" Jaune smiled comfortably as he put the guitar down next to him "What brings you here?"

Ebris gave an acknowledging nod to Ren who was sitting on the top bunk of the opposite bed, with a book between his hands. Ren nodded back with a smile, before returning his gaze to the pages.

The rest of team JNPR seemed to be mysteriously absent, which was a surprise to Ebris, considering Nora almost never left Ren's side, and he knew damn well how Pyrrha felt about Jaune.

"Oh I could just hear you playing" Ebris said casually as he pulled out a chair from the study desk nearby and sat on it, leaning his upper body on the back of the chair "It's nice"

"Thanks but, I'm really not that good" Jaune said with a smile "I've been practicing since I was ten. Never really got professional lessons. My family could never afford such things"

"Seriously though, you're pretty good" Ebris insisted "Maybe a little rough around the edges, but that's to be expected from someone who's self-taught"

"You're flattering me"

Despite Jaune's dismissal of Ebris' praise, he couldn't help but let a proud smile run across his features, and Ebris chuckled as he rolled the chair closer to Jaune.

"You wouldn't happen to give lessons, would you?" Ebris smirked "I would love to learn how to play"

This was true. Even before the accident when he was young, he could remember how he had plagued his father for an acoustic guitar so that he could start practicing, his father rejecting the idea at the time. First off a guitar was very expensive, second of all, his father knew that Ebris had a nasty habit of picking up too many hobbies all at once when he was a kid.

Jaune looked up at Ebris with a look of surprise, and smiled a little as he shrugged his shoulders.

"S-Sure Ebris. I would love to"

Ebris mentally pumped his fist and smirked down at Jaune as he nodded. He had realized that he had never spent much time with JNPR, outside of parties or small study sessions. He wanted to get to know the team better, on a more personal level so to speak.

Before they could further explore the topic, a quick message rang from Ebris' scroll and he dismissed himself as he looked down on the screen, a little surprised at the reveal that the message was from the headmaster himself:

" _You and your team are requested to see me in my office as soon as possible. It's time for your first mission, Eachos"_

* * *

Professor Ozpin squeezed his hands together and took an analyzing look over the five students standing in front of him. Good. They look battle ready. He smiled at the thought, as he took a look at Ebris, noting how he seemed to be just that bit more awake than usual. Even the dark bags under Ebris' eyes had decreased in volume. Maybe he had gotten some sleep? Gods above knew he deserved it at this point.

"Now children, Glynda will inform you on the mission"

He gestured towards Glynda, who nodded and clicked at a remote, which seemed to start a slideshow of pictures on a nearby whiteboard.

"A small village to the southeast of the city of Vale has recently been attacked by a horde of Grimm" Glynda started "The surrounding area is all crops and fields, and the area provide Vale with a considerate chunk of its food supply, which is the greatest reason for the importance of this mission"

Glynda turned to the group and squeezed her riding crop, Ebris' heart all the while speeding up in excitement. His first real mission!

"Therefore, your mission is to clear out the area, and save as many crops as possible to minimize supply damages. Any questions?"

Ebris immediately raised his hand.

"Eachos?"

"Yeah so, exactly how many Grimm are there?" he asked "Oh and, just why is it us that are taking this mission?"

"I know that it is at a most inopportune time," Ozpin said "but this village and surrounding area is very important to us, and therefore we are sending only top students there."

Ozpin stood up and, between his hands, was a report. He glanced it over.

"You see, we actually grade missions on their level of importance, and what sort of significance the mission success will have to the school and the community of Vale as a whole. This mission you got here, is a rank B mission, usually carried out by second or third year students. It is vital to the welfare of Vale, and thus I am expected to send the best third year students out there to take care of it"

"And you're sending me?" Ebris said sarcastically "I mean, kudos to my team, they can handle it I am sure, but me? I've never even been on a mission before"

"Which is why I will be sending one of my personal contacts to escort the five of you" Ozpin continued "He will be able to protect you, should anything go wrong"

"That is not at all necessary" Coco stepped forward "I am sure my team is more than capable of this"

"Please be assured Miss Adel that this is only as a precautionary measure" Ozpin disregarded "We cannot risk that one of Beacon's top tier teams get defeated at the claws of Grimm because of such things"

Great. So he was still behind his team. Still a burden to them. Had he not been there, they would probably be allowed to go there on their own. He was holding them back, Ebris realized.

"Who is this guy anyway?" Fox asked, crossing his arms over his chest "I mean, we've never had to have an escort before, so you would best be choosing someone capable"

"Oh I assure you" Ozpin smiled, before gazing back behind the team "Oh, Qrow! Great timing!"

The team spun around and saw a tall man with greying spiky hair, and dull red eyes, wearing a grey dress shirt and black dress pants and shoes. Ebris noted the huge sword on the man's back, curiously thinking about just what sort of weapon it was. The red cape the man was wearing fluttered against the back of his legs as he looked at the headmaster, and took a quick swig of a flask he had brought with him.

"Ya called, Oz'?"


	15. Chapter 15 - A Soldier's Duty

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 15 - Volume 1 - A Soldier's Duty_

She remembered the incident clearly, like it was yesterday. How the flames had stood tower-high and how the screams of the innocent had pierced her eardrums. And how she had desperately stabbed the random kitchen knife she found on the floor into the chest of a small Beowulf, its howls crawling up her spine and leaving her stomach twisting around itself.

Even as the blood ran down her face in waterfalls she continued to stab the creature over and over again, hovering over it maliciously as if taking her malice out on the poor creature would grant her the revenge she was seeking, and the quell to her desperation she so desperately needed.

The pain in what was left of her left eye dulled behind her hatred to those damn Grimm, beings of darkness, killers of man, and responsible for the deaths of her brother and parents. The realization of her loneliness sunk in as the creature below her stopped resisting, and with a last pained cry, dissipated into smoke.

She was all alone now. She, herself, and the burning wreckage that was once her home. She could no longer hear any screams. The only sounds she could hear were the intense crackling of the fire around her, her heart pounding in her chest, and the thumb, thumb, thumb of her head, whenever her heartbeat sent another blinding wave of pain through her cranium.

Her anger had finally dissipated so much that it allowed the pain to gain full control, and she could no longer stand on her feet. She collapsed on her knees, clutching a hand over the bleeding chasm of what was once her left eye.

The blood pooled in her palm and overflowed, running down her arm in rivers as she tried to focus her remaining eye on finding an exit of the burning wreckage.

There!

She tried to stand but the pain and exhaustion was too much for her. It left her in a heap, constantly stumbling forward and reaching out to lean on something stable with her free arm, occasionally burning her hand on something particularly hot. She didn't care though.

She finally made it out of the burning wreckage and fell onto her back. She wasn't sure if there was any more of those monsters around anymore, and she frankly didn't care. She looked up in the sky, a beautiful starlit evening hanging above the death and destruction below.

Was the stars mocking her? Calling her an idiot for thinking she could live a normal life with those creatures around? Their twinkling certainly seemed bittersweet, as if their glow was not at all affected by this massacre, which they technically weren't. She however, knew she could never look at a starlit sky the same way again.

She heaved her breath and laughed. She laughed maniacally as tears began running from her remaining eye, a laughter that she didn't care to hold back. She didn't care if the Grimm heard her. She would gladly die to escape this pain and despair. She was seven years old by the time she took her first life. The life of a Grimm no doubt, but a life nonetheless.

She didn't know how much time had passed before the military police turned up to search through the village for survivors. She was badly injured, but they eventually found her, and managed to bring her back in a stable condition, or at least stable enough to speak, sleep and eat on her own.

It took her a few weeks to physically heal. Not much time, all things considered. But the emotional wounds would turn out to become scars that would never heal. The memory of losing everything would haunt her, every day and every waking moment.

She was convinced of this as she walked through the entranceway of the hospital, bruised and scraped, but relatively okay. She still felt empty inside, she didn't know what to do from here. When she left the hospital, she would be on her own. No parents to protect her, no little brother to lean against when times get tough. No, she would have to take care of herself.

"Hello, Miss?"

She looked up in surprise to see an older man, possibly in his forties or fifties, approach her, with a younger man at his side. They were both wearing crisp business suits, and she noticed that cat ears were springing out through the hair of the younger man. Faunus.

Each of them carrying their own notepad, the older man furrowed through his pocket, and pulled out what turned out to be a police badge.

"Police chief Manera and police assistant Felish" He introduced them "Are you possibly… Elaine?"

She nodded softly. Her vocal cords had taken excessive damage after having inhaled ash and other burned debris during the incident, but she did usher a rasp introduction.

"E-Elaine Eachos…"

The police officers nodded to themselves and the older man frowned as he stepped forward.

"There is no easy way to tell you this, so I suggest you sit down"

She did what was asked, asking herself just exactly what they would want to tell her.

"The military has already conducted a thorough search of the ruins of your hometown and the surrounding area" The chief began "And… there is no body of your little brother. I believe his name was Ebris?"

She widened her remaining eye and nodded, gripping at her sleeve in nervous anticipation.

"What we're saying is… well, to consider all possibilities…"

The chief grew hesitant and weary as he collected his thoughts.

"He may very well be alive. Alive and well"

* * *

Reminiscing on a past memory that was more than a decade old seemed weird to her, as she stood in the Bullhead vehicle on the way to the overrun southeastern crop village. Back then she had been convinced that the memory would serve as a source to many a nightmare and restless nights, but instead, it served as a reminder of the promise she made to herself, and the two police officers that day.

She had promised to find her little brother and bring him back to her safely, no matter the cost.

That was fourteen years ago. For fourteen years she had fought, fought to find a roof over her head, fought to find a way to get a decent education, fought to the bone to get a job as sixteen year old so that she could support the foster family that had taken care of her for years at that point.

And finally, when she graduated from Shade academy of Vacuo at the age of 20, as a fully-fledged huntress, and said goodbye to the dear teammates she had come to love through the four years of huntsmen training, under the watchful eye of Headmistress Indigo, she had traveled to Beacon to become a soldier in the military.

She did this for one reason. To gain so much public influence, that she could conduct a search around the four kingdoms to scout for her lost little brother. Up until now though, her attempts had been unsuccessful. Either the different battalions were simply not willing to go search for some random boy they didn't know of, or the military simply didn't have resources left to spare. This wasn't "Saving Private Ryan" after all.

She missed everyone back at Shade. She had personally known Octavia of team NDGO, and May of team BRNZ, and considered them some of the closest friends she had ever had. Though she had to leave both them, and her teammates behind, though of course they had all promised to stay in touch.

"…Laine… _Elaine_!"

Elaine looked up with a start and stopped fiddling with the eyepatch she had been wearing for 14 years now. It had become a nasty habit of hers to fiddle with her eyepatch whenever she got nervous, despite doctors and loved ones telling her no. Looking up to see who was calling her name, she smiled to see Serena, the first lieutenant of squadron 354, which Elaine herself was captain of. Serena was someone that Elaine had met back when they were both still privates, without insignias or anything.

"I-I'm sorry lieutenant, I seemed to space out a little" Elaine sighed and stood at attention "But what did I tell you about calling me by my name when in the field? Out here, it's captain!"

"I-I'm sorry captain" A frown ran across the younger girls features as she pulled her captain a bit further away from the rest of the group "I just needed to tell you that we arrive in ten minutes time… and I also needed to know if you were okay"

Elaine frowned guiltily and nodded softly.

"I'm fine Serena, really" She tried a small smile, but a weak one "I'm just reminiscing again"

"I understand. Know that we'll find him. I'll make sure of that"

"Thank you. Right now though, we should both focus on what lays ahead. There are a lot of Grimm down there, and I don't need to lose any of my men"

"Right!"

As Serena went back to the rest of the group, Elaine frowned and looked out of the cockpit window. The ground below seemed gray, and spots of destruction were spread here and there, telling her that the Grimm had been through there before turning towards the village.

"I'll definitely find you Ebris… someday"

* * *

In a completely different Bullhead vehicle, Ebris smiled softly as he polished his weapons, and checked his scroll to determine that everyone's aura was ready for combat.

"My first mission huh…?"

Coco smirked over at him over the rim of her shaded sunglasses.

"I know you'll do great Ebris" She said softly as she looked over in Qrows direction "Plus, now you can show an old veteran just how young people do things these days"

Qrow rolled his eyes and took a quick swig from his flask, a small smile playing in the corner of his lips.

"I like your attitude kid, but you still gotta be careful down there" He mumbled coarsely "Ozpin didn't make me go on this mission with you guys just so you could have a picnic trip"

Ebris nodded and processed the information. Qrow was right. This wouldn't be easy.

"Soldiers from the military will also fall in to act as backup" Qrow instructed "There will be a lot of resistance, and other huntsmen has also been requested to travel here"

"I look forward to see Ebris in an actual combat situation" Velvet continued "I know that he fought Grimm in the ceremony for Beacon, but he has never been on a proper mission"

"That is also correct" Yatsuhashi said "This will give us a wonderful opportunity to analyze his fighting style and ability to work under pressure. This information will seem valuable to us in the future"

"I just look forward to see how much my close combat training has rubbed off on ya, Ebris" Fox smirked "Do you feel like you'd be able to take on a Grimm even without your daggers?"

"Hell no" Ebris chuckled "I want my beautiful face in proper place, thank you very much"

They shared a short laughter before the tense feeling of the situation began to fall over them, especially Ebris, who began to fiddle with his fingers nervously. His first mission. Time to prove himself to his team and to himself. They didn't have an assessment of how many Grimm were down in the village, but he had a feeling that no matter the amount, this mission wouldn't be easy. He turned his head to look at Qrow, their mentor and guardian in this situation.

He had never seen Qrow fight, but he had heard tales of Qrow's old team from Ruby, team STRQ. They were said to be some of the strongest fighters in all of Beacon, possibly in the entire kingdom of Vale. So it would be good to prove to himself, and to the hardened veteran, just how much he had improved since he enrolled in Beacon, and was recruited into team CFVEY.

Ever since the incident fourteen years ago, he was unable to determine whether or not he hated or feared Grimm more. In certain situations it certainly felt like he hated them more than feared them, but at the current moment, he genuinely feared them. Feared them to the very core of his being, more than anyone else than himself ever had, or could ever know. He didn't even dig very deep to figure this out.

He had to wonder. Did team STRQ fear the Grimm as much as he did? He didn't even know much about the four members, except their names, and that Summer Rose apparently had died in an accident of some kind, that the remaining members of STRQ were never willing to explain in detail, not even to Ruby or Yang.

He didn't know why that old team crossed his mind as he was riding towards an overrun village, with what would most likely turn out to be hundreds of Grimm waiting for them. It just kinda happened, without an explanation as to why. Ebris supposed that it was because that one of the members were riding along with them, supposed to protect them.

He felt compelled to ask Qrow if he had ever known fear like Ebris did way back when, but with the heavy atmosphere that had suddenly descended upon the group, he also felt compelled not to.

The Bullhead slowly descended upon the earth and Ebris frowned as he put his polishing cloth in his pocket and drew his daggers in preparation. This whole situation made him think of a zombie scenario. Kill as many as possible, protect your teammates, don't die. Except these "zombies" could run, lash at you, and most likely rip you apart on their own without having to rely on group work. In essence, these creatures were ten times more dangerous than any zombie horde could ever be.

His tense arm relaxed a little bit as he felt a touch on his elbow, and looked back to realize that Velvet was taking a firm grasp on his arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"You'll do fine" She reassured him "Just focus on your task, and remember to not let yourself be surrounded. Fall back if you have to, and we'll be there to assist you"

"Right" He smiled and ruffled her head in an affectional manner.

"Thanks Velvet"

* * *

The light of the sun above them stung a little in Ebris' eyes as they opened the shuttle of the Bullhead, stepping out onto the ground of the plain they had landed on, their weapons at the ready and their minds focused.

He could already feel the smell of burning debris in his nose, and he noticed just how much hotter it suddenly became when they stepped out of the mechanical beast behind them. His nerves tensed as the pilot gave them a short signal, and took off, probably to go back towards Beacon to bring even more huntsmen scouting parties out here.

The Bullhead was technically their only means of escaping this place in a hurry, should anything go wrong, so watching it fly off into the distance, back towards the safety of Vale's walls, made a sinking feeling twist his stomach around itself of pure nervousness.

He gripped his daggers tightly as they moved forward as a collected group, determined to protect each other along the way. Ebris caught a glimpse of Qrow's weapon, a huge longsword that seemed to have mechanical gears around the crossguard area. Maybe the sword could switch forms like Ruby's Crescent Rose?

He couldn't help but feel a bit admiration towards Qrow's weapon. He had never been as much of a weapons nut as Ruby was, but he could still swoon when someone showed up with another cool gadget or amazing weapon.

He pulled his gaze from the weapon as a growl ripped him from his thoughts, and everyone stood at attention as a Beowulf rounded the corner of a hay cart, growling at them menacingly.

"Hmm, a Beowulf" Ebris stepped forward carefully, holding his weapons at the ready "You guys be careful. If he's in a pack, the others must be around here somewhere"

He could feel his hatred to the feared species boil up in him again as he twirled his beloved daggers between his fingers, Velvet looking over at him in apprehension, but otherwise stayed silent.

His anger rose as he approached the towering monstrosity in all of its dark furred horror. Even despite its relatively small size to the species, it still towered over him, and he could see saliva drip off its sickle-sharp teeth.

Fear began bubbling up in him again, but before it could manage to take control of him, he sent a quick prayer to whoever might be listening, and prepared himself.

He stomped off the ground and began rushing towards the Beowulf, but his dagger didn't connect to the creature. Instead, a great howl slashed through the atmosphere as the Beowulf was flung through the air and crashed into a nearby house wall, its body broken as it collapsed on the ground and dissipated.

Ebris tried to contain his shock and looked in the general direction of where the powerful blow had come from. He looked down at the ground where the Beowulf had once stood, a big iron ball with spikes and a long chain laying in its place. The chain suddenly retracted and brought the ball back in the direction it came from, and he felt a rush of fear-inspired awe hang over him, as he saw a tall dark haired woman standing a few feet away, donning a full suit of armor with black trimmings and tinges.

The eyepatch she was wearing over her left eye made Ebris' eyebrow twitch slightly in horror, the realization dawning on him that she most likely lost her eye in a Grimm attack or something along those lines. As he gazed into the woman's eye, he couldn't help but feel that he had seen that gaze somewhere before.

In her right hand she held the handle to her weapon, the chain fully retracting to be put back in place on the top of the it, leaving the woman with a morning star weapon. In her left hand she held a large shield, donned with a great black dragon on its front.

A piercing gaze met Ebris' shocked one, and despite the woman's lack of a left eye, she still managed to stun him into place with the sheer power behind it. Her expression softened as she sighed as she lowered her weapon, her great black locks swaying in the wind as she opened her mouth to speak.

"You are one of the huntsmen teams, correct?"


	16. Chapter 16 - Moonlit Request

_RWBY_

 _The Strength Of Revenge_

 _Chapter 16 - Volume 1 Finale - Moonlit Request_

The gentleness of the woman's voice seemed to completely contrast the intense gaze she wore earlier, as she posed her question.

"You are one of the huntsmen teams, correct?"

His words kept catching in his throat and he ushered a few baffled sounds that were supposed to be words. He realized he had been staring at the woman for quite a while as Fox jabbed his ribs with his elbow, which allowed him to escape from the trance of impressed awe he had just been caught in.

"O-Oh yeah, we are. I mean, me and my team are just huntsmen in training, but the old man there is a veteran"

"Don't call me old, kid" Qrow grunted as he stepped forward towards the woman to offer a handshake "You must be Elaine right? General ironwood said you'd be here"

That name struck a chord with Ebris. Something seemed so familiar about it, yet it felt like it was the first time he had ever heard it. That feeling bothered him as the woman continued.

"Yes, I am Elaine" She smiled happily, and despite her missing an eye, Ebris could still see her happiness shine through in her gaze "So Ironwood knows of me, eh?"

"Of course he does" Qrow smirked "You're one of the most well respected squadron captains in the entire Valean military. He personally wants to meet you at some point"

"Really!?"

Elaine had exclaimed this with a bit more enthusiasm than what was expected from a highly respected military captain, and after some of the group winced and pulled back from her excited shout, she cleared her throat in embarrassment and spoke with a lower tone.

"I-I mean, that's fantastic. I will have to contact him personally when I get back to the main city"

"R-Right"

Even Qrow seemed taken aback as he drew his flask from his pocket and took a deep sip.

"So, how many squadrons you guys bringing?" Qrow asked "It would be nice to know just how much backup we have on our hands"

Elaine, grateful for the change of topic, brought out her scroll.

"There's me and my own squadron, along with squadron Bravo and Charlie. Each squadron contains two hundred soldiers, which should be more than enough to save this village from complete destruction"

"So this place is that important huh?"

Qrow got a thoughtful expression as he drew his sword, and examined his surroundings.

"Well anyway, kids, let's get this job done so we can all come back home safely"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Ebris grew more and more curious about the woman that had recently departed from them to go meet up with her squadron nearby. How he had missed the Bullhead plane they had arrived in, or how he could not see a squadron with two hundred soldiers move all at once was anyone's guess, but that wasn't what piqued his interest.

The woman seemed so weirdly familiar to Ebris that it was almost scary. He was certain that he had seen that black hair somewhere before, and despite he had never met anyone with only one eye, he recognized the glimmer of excitement Elaine had when she was told that Ironwood was looking into meeting her.

"Ebris? Is everything okay?"

He widened his eyes and turned to see Velvet looking up at him, a worried questioning look in her eyes as her ears hung a little.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine Velvet" He tried to smile despite his thoughts "It's just… I feel like I've seen that Elaine girl before"

"Huh? Really?" She asked surprised "Well, I'm surprised you haven't at least heard of her. She's quite a hero around these parts"

"Really now?" He looked in the direction that Elaine had left.

"Yup" Coco cut in, still looking around cautiously as they spoke "She is one of the most trusted generals in the Valean army, and rescued quite a few people back when she still worked as a huntress"

"Oh, so she must have graduated Beacon then?" He asked.

"Indeed she did" Yatsuhashi mumbled in his usual tone "Her athletic record alone made her a high standing student, but she also excelled in chemistry and Grimm studies"

This bummed Ebris out somewhat as he was forced to recollect his memories of tireless nights with Weiss constantly berating him about what answers were right and wrong in his own Grimm studies.

"Great" He huffed in annoyance, hoping that changing the subject would help him forget about that painful experience "So Qrow, what's the plan here?"

We're going to the plaza in the middle of the village and working outwards" Qrow said "The idea is for us to work from the inside, while the soldiers surround the village and work inwards. Sorta like surrounding them from literally all sides"

"Sounds good."

Indeed, it sounded like a decent plan, but Ebris still knew that he had to look out for any sort of trouble ahead. He had learned a long time ago that when it came to Grimm, nothing was certain. He should rely on the plan, sure, but should also anticipate the off chance that things would go south. If only he had thought like that when fighting with Yang.

Before long they had found the main horde of the Grimm and just as the team had predicted, they were practically crawling out of the woodwork here. It seemed to be mainly smaller Grimm like Beowulf's, Boarbatusks and small Ursai, but there even seemed to be a few Death Stalkers, King Taijitus and Beringels stalking around between the little village buildings.

This wouldn't be easy. Though Ebris trusted in Qrow's plan and the strength of his teammates.

He and his team rushed forward and he quickly nodded over at Velvet before they jumped straight into the middle of the horde with intense battle cries, and beginning the battle, Ebris' nervousness and fear eventually turning into an intense adrenaline rush as his body seemed to rush forward at a speed he had yet to reach before.

"LET'S DO THIS!"

He screamed as he lodged his dagger into the neck of a large Beowulf and jerked it upwards, letting it collapse as he continued on to the next Grimm. The thought of him taking lives as he fought never crossed his mind. Grimm didn't have lives, of this he was convinced. They were nothing but dark creatures that needed extermination.

He growled as he pulled his dagger out of the neck of a Boarbatusk and widened his eyes as he looked up, the stinger of a Death Stalker about to pierce through him. He flipped backwards and looked up, flinching slightly at the shockwave the impact made upon the ground.

He growled and sped forward, slashing a couple of times across the stinger of the great beast, smirking as it screamed in pain. He was caught up in his proudness and didn't see the left hook from the claw of the beast, which connected with his side, sending a pulse of impact through him as he was shot through the air, his breath escaping him in a painful "oomph".

He was sent flying at least a few meters, hitting into several Grimm on the way, sending them flying. When the ground finally grinded his sprawl to a halt, he barely had time to get up before the surrounding Grimm had already surrounded him and were about to pounce on him.

"Shit!"

He raised his arms to shield himself when a nearby Beowulf attacked. He hissed and closed his eyes as he prepared for the incoming pain, but it never came. A moment of confusion made him open his eyes back up, and he felt a rush of relief as Elaine was standing over him in a protective stance, her shield between her and the raging creature that had been mere moments away from clawing at his skin.

She grunted and pushed the creature back before crashing her morning star into its skull, a cracking sound sending shivers down Ebris' back and making his hair stand on end, before the creature flung backwards and dissipated midair. She sighed and relaxed her stance, before turning to Ebris and offering him her hand.

"Never underestimate them young man" She said with a stern frown "They might be mindless killers, but they're powerful indeed"

He looked up at her, a realization hitting him. He had seen this before somewhere. The way she stood, the way the sun was shining down on her, lighting up her hair and her features. Just the whole situation was something he had experienced before, and an old memory long forgotten suddenly flashed in front of his eyes.

* * *

 _The sun shone down through the green canopy of trees above him, the smell of blood and wildlife filling his nostrils as he stared up at the girl standing over him, having somehow chased away a wolf that had attacked him. His arm was bleeding and gashed, but he himself was okay, despite his heart hammering in his chest and the constant thumbing pain running through his arm._

 _The moment had been so peaceful. He had been walking around, mumbling to himself in a cloud of his own mind as he was collecting berries for family dinner that following evening. He couldn't even remember what he had been mumbling about as he waddled to and fro, caught in his own little world._

 _A growl had ripped him out of his thoughts, and a fear he had yet to learn to accept properly, awoke in his chest as he turned around and looked straight into a blood red set of eyes, the sun shining off the beasts terrifyingly long razor sharp fangs as it approached him. Feral growls escaped from the creature, further amplifying the fear he felt grow in his body._

 _Even as young as he was at the time, he could tell that his arm was broken. His tears flooded down his face, but he did not cry. He couldn't because of his fear. But the presence of the girl eased him, finally letting a few sobs escape him._

 _The girl had short black hair, hair that he had been accustomed to see almost every day in his short life. He had learned to associate that black hair with her, the person that seemed to be there for him even more than his parents were at times._

 _Once she was sure that the wolf had indeed had enough of a beating with the stick she had picked up from the ground, and had run away, she sat down beside him to check him for serious injuries, her features filled with concern and worry for his safety._

 _Despite his young age he could tell from the way she was looking at him, that she was just as scared as he was. Her breathing was deep and fast, as if she was on the brink of hyperventilating, and she had tears in the corners of her eyes as if she had been close to a meltdown when facing off against the fear inducing creature._

" _Elaine i… I didn't… I didn't mean for this to happen…"_

 _His voice was high pitched and shaky, a combination of his fear, pain and young age as he stared up at the girl with a pained, guilty expression. She forced a comforting smile, a weak one, as she helped him get up back to his feet, making sure not to disturb his injured arm._

" _I know Ebris… I know"_

* * *

He shook his head and groaned as the memory was dispersed at the sound of a voice cutting through his flashback.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

Elaine looked down at him with worry and he looked up at her surprised. Had he zoned out?

He shook away his confusion and took her offered hand before she yanked him back to his feet and handed him his weapons.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine… Thanks"

She nodded and hurried on to continue the fight, leaving Ebris to himself and his thoughts. The flashback only served to strengthen his suspicions, and at this point he was completely certain that he had met Elaine somewhere before. But where? Was she a friend or something from back at Patch? If not, then how did he know her?

His distraction almost served to him being surprise attacked by another Beowulf but he only just managed to notice it sneaking up on him, pushing it away as it pounced before slashing at it, quickly bringing it to its death.

He sighed and looked over the battlefield. His team, Qrow and the soldiers had done well, thinning out in the numbers of Grimm effectively. He shook his head and decided to push his confusion back, deciding to think of it later.

* * *

Hours had passed, and the Grimm had finally begun falling back, dispersing in all different directions. Sometime along the way the team had met back up and herded the last bit of Grimm out of the village, allowing the group to finally relax. Ebris collapsed in his seat of the Bullhead, taking a deep breath to relax his sore muscles.

Elaine and her squad had already returned to their Bullhead, stealing Ebris' only chance to ask her about his sneaking suspicions, which bothered him to no end. As they flew back towards the city of Vale in their Bullhead, Velvet noticed his troubled expression and sat down in the seat next to him, offering him a comforting smile and a pat on his thigh.

"Something wrong, Ebris?" She asked him.

He sighed and sat up, shaking his head.

"No, nothing's wrong per say but… I can't shake the feeling that I've met Elaine before and… It's not just a sneaking suspicion anymore"

She nodded softly and smiled.

"Well I'm sure you two will meet again" She offered "As far as I know, she lives in town. You might get to meet up with her at some point"

"She's an army commander in a very harsh time. I doubt it" he sighed "Anyway, you looked good out there. No wonder you're a part of one of the top teams on second year"

Velvet blushed and looked away, a smile creeping on her lips as she let her ears hang in embarrassment.

"You were pretty cool too" Velvet finally mumbled, daring to look back in Ebris' general direction "You need to work on your aim though"

"Huh? My accuracy is fine" He laughed "You sure that camera of yours isn't just broken somehow? I saw you take pictures whenever you had the chance"

This made her blush and scramble for an excuse.

"Y-You know that's just my hobby" She said in a panic "I-I guess you can call it a sixth sense of sort. Whenever I sense a great shot is approaching, I have to bring out my camera"

"Yeah sure" He chuckled and smirked over at him "Whatever you say, fluffy"

She pouted, and Ebris almost expected her to raise her voice from the nickname, when she suddenly got a serious expression in her features, her gaze downcast and her fists clenching on top of her lap.

"Velvet?"

A growing concern in his chest was audible in his voice as he asked.

"Something wrong?"

Velvet took a deep breath and looked over at Ebris, this time looking straight into his eyes. He could sense the determination even without looking directly into her eyes, and a sense of nervousness began forming inside him as she parted her lips to speak.

"I-I want to meet with you tonight… is that okay? On the roof?"

On the roof?

"Uhh sure, but what is it about?"

She steeled herself a bit and clenched her fists in determination, something Ebris had a feeling she needed to say whatever she wanted to say.

"I just need to tell you something… Important… and I want to do it in private"

"U-Uhm… okay, sure"

* * *

The air was heavy and awkward all the way back to Beacon, and Ebris couldn't help but steal expectant glances in Velvet's direction as he wondered what she wanted to talk to him about.

That following evening, Ebris' head was conflicted about whether or not to lend his focus on his curiosity towards the powerful mace-warrior that was Elaine from earlier that day, and his worries about the camera-enthusiastic Velvet.

His gaze was upon the shattered moon of the night sky as the wind picked up and ruffled his hair, sending a cold shiver along his spine. He might not even have brought his coat at all, as the cold night wind cut through the thick isolation and left him cold and shivering despite his best efforts to keep warm.

"It just had to be on the roof didn't it?" He complained through clattering teeth, draping his scarf tighter around his neck "It couldn't have been in the warm comfortable dorm room or anything"

He sniffled a little and checked his watch. 5 minutes before the clock would strike nine. The evenings had been weirdly cold lately, despite it being still late summer. So cold in fact that he had draped himself in a coat and scarf and still felt a bone chilling cold run through his body. As curious and worried he was concerning Velvet, he couldn't wait to get back to the warm and cozy dorm room.

He had intended to move around and work up his own heat, had it not been for the slow creaking of the rooftop door, and the reluctant nervous steps of his favorite bunny girl Faunus stepping out into the cold late summer air.

He looked back over his shoulder with a smile, taking her in in his gaze. She was in a brown coat and tall black boots and jeans along with a yellow and brown striped scarf, her bunny ears having been rolled together and protected by a set of earmuffs. His heart almost skipped a beat at her arrival; at how cute she looked when she wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Hey" he smiled softly "You're early"

"W-Well so are you" She mumbled as she walked over to join him by his side "I didn't keep you waiting for too long, did I?"

He chuckled and took a deep breath, letting the cool air refresh his body. He could feel his senses come back to life along with his deep breathing.

"Not at all. Gave me some time to think"

Her curious gaze gave him the impression that she wanted to know what he had thought about, but that gave way to the reason that she had invited him up here.

"Ebris… I wanted to uhm…"

A moment's nervousness and doubt. This notion, this almost automatic set of emotions and reactions had been something that Ebris had seen from her a hundred times by now, but every time felt like the first to him. The way she would fiddle with her fingers nervously as she thought of what to say, to then mutter a few words and quickly retreat to rethink her words.

If her ears had not been muffed down they would have moved back and forth in pure habit from her nervousness.

All of this culminated in a shy and nervous bunny girl, having trouble finding out just what she wanted to say.

"Please take your time Velvet" He reassured her with a soft squeeze on her shoulder "I got all evening"

Another moment of reconsidering and she took a deep breath, now fully determined to ask him what she knew she had wanted to ask him for weeks.

"S-So uhm… you know the school dance is coming up, right?"

He nodded softly. He did know about it but he had not given it much thought. He had never attended that many parties in his life and the few he did had been in random pubs or dance clubs, where he would quickly become one with the crowd and fiddle through the bar for a good drink. Underage or not, he could appreciate his alcohol.

At his nod, Velvet took another calming breath and continued.

"D-Do you happen to have a… partner, to the dance?"

At this question, his eyebrows rose, and the overwhelming embarrassment from the meaning of those words made him unable to control a small blush from crossing his cheeks.

"U-Uhh, no" He tries to hide his embarrassment with a smirk "Not that I know why you would assume I did"

"O-Oh no! I didn't! I-I mean…"

She had trouble finding her words and shook her head in attempt to find them in the sea of uncertainty she was currently sailing upon.

"I-I think you're an amazing guy Ebris. That, I mean sincerely"

The sincerity and shrunken uncertainty in her words took him by slight surprise, and he looked over at Velvet wordlessly, taking in the sight of her. The moon, despite its shattered image, was shining down upon her as perfectly as if it had been whole. It lit up her eyes in that magical way you only see in movies, and for a short moment Ebris found himself lost in them.

They say that your eyes are the windows to your soul. And in Velvets case her soul and mind must have been incredibly troubled, as her gaze darted in every direction other than Ebris.

"W-What I wanted to ask was… Will you go to the dance with me?"

A wind rushed over the two of them, everything around them silent as a complete contrast to the frantic beating of Ebris' heart in his chest. For the first time ever he felt like time was standing still, as he and Velvet stood there upon the roof, gazing into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity.

Velvet wanted to go to the dance with him? Of her motives he was unsure but a desire began to run through his mind like a steam train on its tracks. His mind began to work in overdrive, thoughts of dancing and laughing and hanging out with Velvet, just the two of them, flushed him and overwhelmed him in a blur of emotions.

The cogs in his mind began to finally turn and bring him out of his stupor.

He shook his head to clear his mind and smiled as he looked back into Velvet's eyes, once again finding himself lost in the sea of chocolate brown. He felt his arm move forward in what almost seemed like an automatic movement, one that his mind had not itself initiated.

He offered her his hand and smiled softly, his brain short circuiting and allowing his body to move of its own accord.

"I would love to go to the dance with you Velvet"

It took a moment for Velvet to register the answer, and as soon as she realized what words had been spoken, an explosion of cheers and happiness ruptured in her chest, threatening to overflow in the form of tears in the corner of her eyes.

Instead of breaking down crying she decided to take Ebris' offered hand, giving it a light squeeze. Her touch was so frail that Ebris' could almost think that a simple shake could break her to pieces, and instead he squeezed her hand back, enjoying the feeling of holding it within his own.

He fought the maddening blush and smiled.

'This is perfect'


	17. Chapter 17 - Confusing Emotions

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 17 -Volume 2 - Confusing Emotions_

Ebris groaned in frustration as he sat on his bed in the dorm room. He was alone. Perfect.

It was the weekend after the mission, and he had finally gotten his chance to catch a break and figure out his worries. First term was officially over, and there was a part of him that thanked the heavens above that term breaks existed. A whole week to relax and worry about what was going on.

He thought back to his and Velvet's meeting on the roof, and his heart skipped a beat at the memory. He still couldn't believe that he had offered her his hand like that, much less the fact that she had accepted it, with a smile no less.

He wasn't exactly sure what was going on between him and Velvet. Whenever he was around her he seemed to get the same sort of high he got when he was fighting Grimm, but this wasn't the same. That was more adrenaline-like excitement, making his moves faster and more precise than he could ever make them otherwise.

Whenever he looked at Velvet though, he felt a high that he was desperate to describe, but always lacked the words to in the exact moment. Every time she looked up at him with those innocent eyes, he could feel his breath catch in his throat and his face light up like a Christmas tree.

Whenever they would spent time together, which he had noticed became more and more often as time progressed, he felt like he was truly at peace. Not even the impending doom of term finals could make him grow nervous whenever she was around.

And yet he lacked the words and the mindset to figure out just what he felt.

He wasn't certain on anything anymore. He knew that Velvet was the only person who had ever been able to make him feel this way, and his frustrations about not being able to figure out just what these feelings meant often drove him to rolling around in his sheets in angered frustration well into the early hours of the morning.

He had never been experienced with anything in regards to relationships, having never had a romantic partner in his life. Like any growing young man he had interests, but that barely helped any in his predicament. He had no way to tell himself just exactly what was wrong with him, why he constantly thought about Velvet and her wellbeing.

In the beginning he had assumed that it was because she was his friend and he wanted the best for her, but he soon realized that she was crossing his mind much more than any other friend he had ever had, even more than the other members of CFVEY.

He had realized that Velvet was more than just a friend to him, but what exactly that meant, he couldn't figure out, and it was killing him.

For a moment he realized that at some point between remembering the rooftop meeting and wondering about his and Velvet's relationship, he had laid down upon his bed and was now staring up at the roof. Deciding that grumbling about in the dorm room wouldn't help him any, he decided to head out into Beacon campus to let the cool air of approaching autumn clear his mind.

The wind rushed over him as he draped his coat closer around his body, students of all years walking in clusters and small groups around him. He had always preferred to be alone. He wasn't exactly the most sociable person, and opposite of Yang who enjoyed the attention she naturally drew to herself, he preferred to stay in the background, out of sight, out of mind, and out of the spotlight.

When he was with Velvet though, he wished to be what he knew he couldn't. Someone more open and approachable than he's ever been. He wished that he could make it easier to connect to people and let them in. The scar on his chest remained as a constant reminder though, that the people he opened up to had a habit of suddenly disappearing, a fear that he had lived with for more than a decade now, but one that he had never learned to accept.

In the past, Sinistral and Dextral had always managed to be a source of comfort for him. A gentle squeeze to their handles could normally ease his distress, a simple reminder that as long as he took care of himself, he didn't have to worry about having his heart broken again. But today, they served little purpose as he trudged through campus without a clear goal or destination in mind.

Just like back on the rooftop when he took Velvet's hand, he allowed his body to move on its own, letting his mind drift along with his attention. He had been quick to learn that a walk around campus was an effective way to let his mind wander, and this time was no different.

Right until a shout cut through his thoughts and broke his concentration.

"Hey Ebris!"

He looked up and smiled as he saw his team leader walk towards him with a confident stride and a grin on her face.

"We need to talk"

"I swear to god, if I have to choose between two more articles of clothing-" He started, Coco swiftly cutting him off as she grabbed his collar.

"Not this time, my friend!" She smirked, dragging him along "Come on!"

"At least tell me where the hell we're going!" Ebris yelled exasperatedly as Coco dragged him off towards the main school building.

* * *

After having finally arrived at an empty classroom and closed the door behind them, away from prying eyes and ears, Coco turned towards him as she sat down on top of the teachers desk in the front.

"Now sit down and pay attention" She ordered him.

Ebris, still annoyed at having been dragged here, remained standing as he shot his team leader a glare.

"Coco if you wanted to ask me to be your partner for the dance, you could have just said so" He said with a teasing smirk.

"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Coco chuckled "No, this is about Velvet. So sit down, and shut up"

He was suddenly much more inclined to listen, and took his seat by one of the many student desks in the room.

"Good boy" She nodded and turned her gaze away for a moment, probably to collect her thoughts.

"Ebris…" She began, heaving a sigh "I am quite worried as of lately. Can you guess why?"

He honestly had no idea, and shook his head as indication as such.

"I see. Then I'll explain" She mumbled.

To Ebris' surprise she removed her sunglasses, something he didn't think he'd ever seen her do. He must have seen her actual eyes once over the course of the now 4 months they had known each other.

"As team leader, and as you guys' friend, it is my responsibility to know when things aren't what they're supposed to be" She began "I can sense when you guys are troubled, and you and Velvet have been especially troubled as of lately"

He nodded softly. She wasn't wrong. He could sense the tension and nervousness between the two of them becoming stronger and stronger as well, and he had no doubt that others besides Coco had picked up on it as well.

"When one of a team is stressed or tense, the rest of the team naturally follows suit. I just need to know what you're so worried about"

Ebris smiled at her appreciatively, appreciating his team leader's concern for him.

"Urgh, where to start" he mumbled, running a hand through his brunette hair "I've just been really confused and conflicted lately…"

"Go on" Coco ushered.

"There's this whole thing about wanting to train, while I can't because of my body" Ebris continued "Then there's the fact that studying is about _this_ close to killing me. And on top of all this, I don't know what the hell is going on between me and Velvet, or even where we stand with each other anymore"

"What do you mean exactly? Regarding Velvet that is?" Coco mumbled, wanting to get more out of that topic.

"Oh my god" He sounded completely exhausted as he went on a ramble "We've always been good friends, but lately she and I have been hanging out more and more, and I really appreciate her as a friend, and just a few days ago she asked me to the dance and I've just been more and more confused lately"

She nodded along to his story silently, but on the inside she was squealing like a little girl. At this point she was happy that she knew Velvet's side of the story already, as she now had confirmation that Velvet and Ebris both liked each other, and she couldn't be more satisfied with her work on the sidelines.

'Coco Adel, you are a genius' She thought to herself before speaking out loud "Well, as an outsider, I can only provide an outsiders perspective. And it sounds to me like you really like and appreciate Velvet, right?"

Ebris simply nodded, unaware of what words he should use to respond to that.

"Well, I can't tell you much about Velvet's case, as she made me promise not to" Ebris looked at her in worry, while Coco tried, and failed, at repressing a giggle "but I can tell you that you need not to worry, and that you should look forward to the dance"

"You seriously can't tell me anything?" Ebris asked, defeated "I might be inclined to go crazy sooner or later"

At this, Coco could no longer contain an amused giggle.

"All I can say is she cares about you, as a friend and as a teammate" She concluded "What you want to make of that information is up to you."

She walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen Ebris, my best advice for you is to forget it for now, and focus on getting ready for the dance" She smirked softly "If you don't look your best for Fluffy, I might just have to kick your ass"

He chuckled softly and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Is that a threat or a statement?" He smirked.

"Come unprepared and try me"

She chuckled and released her hand from his shoulder before heading for the door.

"See you later man. Oh and, Weiss and Yang were looking for you. Something about dance preparation"

* * *

A few days later, team CFVEY, RWBY and JNPR had set their minds on some more relaxation. Weiss had been berating Ebris on spending his time on even more studying, which was promptly ignored. Ebris already felt exhausted from his thoughts on Velvet, he didn't need to overheat from studying on top of it all.

It wasn't like Ebris was a bad student, far from it actually. With Weiss' help he had managed to score among the best of the grimm study term finals, and he was great at social studies like history and geography. Though that merely came as a result of him traveling all over Remnant during his training before Beacon.

But when it all came down to it, Ebris couldn't take to sit still too long, and when irritation finally began to settle in, it didn't make much sense to force him to continue, as that would often end up in broken furniture and several complains from the dorm neighbors of excessive noise.

Instead of staring in a textbook, he and his friends had decided to go out and relax in the fresh air of the green Beacon campus, collected together by a tall apple tree. Several of them was either sprawled out in the grass or leaning against the rough bark trunk, while Velvet was having a small photoshoot with Coco for practice, Ruby had somehow convinced Weiss to play with a Frisbee with her, and Ren was sitting a bit away from them, meditating and relaxing in his own way.

Yang was sitting beside Ebris against the trunk of the tree, their teams as well as JNPR having grouped around them in the grass. Ebris' moment of relaxation was cut short as he felt Yang jab him softly with an elbow, before pointing over at a nearby student walking on the gravel path on her way to the main school building.

"See her?"

Ebris took a disinterested look at the passing girl, wondering what Yang was up to this time.

"Yeah?"

"Wide hips, long blonde hair. And that bust too" Yang snickered "She's at least a seven don't you think?"

Ebris rolled his eyes, knowing fully well that Yang was looking for another opportunity to tease him.

"Meh, I'd say a four"

"Oof, harsh" Yang said with a chuckle "Any reason she's so low on your list?"

"She's way too much of a showoff" Ebris mumbled, noting the girl's clothing "I mean, its late September. You'd almost think she'd be freezing"

Yang looked back at the girl, and he kinda had a point. She was wearing a crop top cut off a bit over her bellybutton, and cutoff jeans that only barely passed by her knees. Definitely not early autumn attire. Even Yang herself had turned to wearing a heavier and warmer outfit, replacing her yellow top and jacket and skirt with a blouse and long jeans.

"Come on, there's gotta be more reason than that" Yang pressed on.

"She's just not my type I guess" Ebris concluded "Why are you suddenly interested in my choice of girl?"

"Aww come on, don't act like you've never been people-watching before" Yang smirked "Now come on! Give me all the details!"

"Urgh" He groaned, a little annoyed at her persistence "Alright, alright if it makes you shut up"

Ebris sat up properly and began scouting himself, until he found another student roaming along campus.

"Her, right there" He smiled "Long brown hair, slim figure. Not too big proportions, and pretty brown eyes. Form hugging clothes, but not over the top. She's probably shy and reclusive around people she don't know. Possibly an expensive hobby, like cameras and photos and such"

Somewhere in the background, Yang couldn't help but notice how Velvet kept stealing looks over at Ebris, a dark hue over her face. Velvet's big sensitive rabbit ears reassured Yang that she had heard every word.

"And?"

Ebris looked over at Yang in confusion.

"And?" He asked, inquiring her to finish.

"What score does she get?"

He shrugged and took a last look at the girl before she disappeared behind the building.

"I'd say eight. Maybe a nine" He concluded.

Yang, satisfied with the answer, sat back against the tree and smirked as she put on her aviators to block out the sun.

"Not a ten though?"

Ebris shrugged and smiled knowingly to himself, leaning back against the tree trunk.

"I have to admit..." He mumbled, looking up in the sky as he took deep breath "I've already found my ten"

Yang retained her smirk despite the pang of emotional pain in her chest, spurred on by her and Ebris' conversation. Too much of a showoff huh? Not your type? These thoughts ran through Yang's mind as if on replay. Though since she had personally promised to help Velvet with her problems, she had to swallow these emotions and move on.

Despite telling herself this though, it didn't quell the overwhelming pain. She had always put everyone else before herself and let their emotions be more important than her own. Why should this time be any different?

* * *

Nearby, Velvet had become extremely distracted from the photoshoot practice she had had with Coco, much to her team leader's hidden satisfaction. As satisfied as Coco was with everyone's work on trying to match Velvet and Ebris with each other, she was surprised that Ebris had not picked up on the signs sooner.

She believed that her short talk with Ebris a few days ago had set his mind at ease, if not on the right track, but still he had still not picked up on the fact that the entirety of RWBY, JNPR and his own team, tried to get Velvet and him together. Sometimes she questioned whether he was thinking at all, but she refrained from ever saying it out loud.

Still, she imagined how the dance would actually go. Weiss and Yang had been very busy with putting the whole thing together, and she had personally bought her way through Yang's heart to make her give up details on just what sort of party it would actually be, by promising her an entire month where she could spent Coco's money on whatever she wanted. It had been worth it.

It would be a classic dance, a few opening slow dances to start the night off, open buffet, punch drinking, stuff around those lines. Eventually people would be allowed to split off and do whatever they'd like for the rest of the evening, and she had made it her personal mission that no one would interrupt Velvet and Ebris all night.

Ozpin would make a speech in the beginning of the dance, but other than that, the teachers barely had any interference with the dance whatsoever. Goodwitch, as stern as she was, had insisted that she would keep a close look at the punch bowl, just in case that a student would be dumb enough to spike it with alcohol.

She could remember her own first year dance, and it had been a huge success, despite the fact that someone had actually managed to spike the punch at that party. It never turned into anything severely disastrous, but Goodwitch made it her personal mission to find whoever was responsible and promptly kicking them out of the school.

Coco shuddered at the thought and chuckled to herself as she watched Velvet take another glance over at Ebris, relaxing with the others by the tree.

She was excited on Velvet's behalf, and prayed that she would pull it together and find the courage to finally confess. The poor girl was getting eaten alive by her own emotions after all, and even if it turned out that Ebris would turn down her confession, which she highly doubted at this point, then Velvet could at least accept reality, and move on to even greater things, not stay still in a limbo of confusing emotions.

"Ebris is a lucky guy" She snickered, before she put her aviators back into place on her nose, and continued to pose for the camera.

* * *

"Now Emerald, is everything in place?"

"Everything is ready Ma'am"

"Good"

The woman smirked as she sat in her dorm room, absentmindedly picking at her fingernails as she ran through her plan with her 'servants'.

"And Ebris?"

"It seems he has taken more time to studying and less time training. Since he has to do two years worth of studying his mind is plenty occupied, but if we wish to trigger _that,_ he'll have to stress his body as well"

"That's what the Vytal Festival is for" Cinder smirked as she ran her thumb over her scroll, making sure to do double and triple checks on the virus she had brought with her "The stress of competition combined with the fear of our assault will be too much for him to handle"

"Good, at least we have that sorted" The boy by her right side, named Mercury, scoffed scornfully as he looked out the window "Snot nosed brats all of them. Look at all this peace and happiness."

Emerald, the girl to Cinder's left, couldn't help but giggle quietly at his scorn.

"What, Mercury Black can't take a little sunshine and rainbows?"

"Can it, Rogue" He mumbled to his rival "As far as i know, you hate it too"

"Oh sure, it's disgusting" She said with a chuckle "But at least i know how to lid my emotions"

"As much as i want to discuss you two's insisting on bickering, Emerald has a point, Mercury" Cinder inclined "We will have to be professional when handling this hit. Not let our emotions deter us from the mission"

"Oh don't worry" He smirked softly "I won't"

"Good"

Cinder stood and stretched her body lazily before strutting out into the hallway.

"Be good while i scout out the CCT tower, and try not to kill each other, okay?"

As she looked over her shoulder to get confirmation from the two, she suddenly bumped into a figure. At first she looked up with a huffed scorn, but her face lit up at the fact that she had ran into Ebris.

"Oh Ebris! Hello again!"

At the realisation he had managed to bump into her, he had a facial expression reminding Cinder of a kicked puppy. His reluctance amused her and shecouldn't help but giggle softly as he manned up to reply.

"Oh uhm, good afternoon Cinder" he mumbled, scratching his neck nervously.

"What are you doing here?" Cinder asked sweetly, a smile playing in the corner of her mouth "This is the transfer student dorm"

He flushed a little and the scratching of his neck intensified as he scrambled to collect his words.

"Oh i uhm, since the Vytal festival is coming up in a few weeks, i was thinking of scoping out the competition" He chuckled nervously "I heard SSSN of Haven and BRNZ of Shade have already arrived, and i wanted to check them out, ya know?"

"Under the cover of welcoming them to the academy, i assume?"

Ebris looked up at her in surprise "How did you know?"

She snickered and stepped closer to him.

"Weiss Schnee tried to do the same thing earlier."

His breathing and heartbeat increased as the space between them lessened, and he looked away from her as he scrambled for an excuse to get away from her.

"SOoo i'll go get to that!"

He started to step beside her to get to the team dorms but Cinder stopped him in his tracks.

"Would you mind meeting me at the dorm entrances? I want you to escort me to the CCT tower"

"Oh uhm yeah sure! See you there!"

In the heat and panic of the moment he barely even registered her request, as he sped along the hall.

"Perfect"

She snickered and headed for the entrance.

"This will prove invaluable"


	18. Chapter 18 - Infiltration

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 18 - Volume 2 - Infiltration_

Cinder had just parted from Ebris and was headed straight for the tall CCT tower, her mission unclear to anyone but her and her little servants back at Beacon. As much as she knew that Ebris was a simple asset, a cog in the machine of her devious plan, and although it was not at all necessary, she couldn't help but flirt with Ebris whenever she had the chance.

She enjoyed his shy, brash way of trying to brush her off, and while other girls would be downcast and depressed from being rejected, Cinder always enjoyed the hunt rather than the kill. Him rejecting her advances, her flirtatious words and touches, and the way he bashfully scratched the back of his neck whenever her actions hit close to home, lit something ablaze in her chest that she hadn't felt in a long time.

What it was exactly was anyone's guess. Not even she knew. What she did know though, was that she would enjoy tormenting him until she knew the answer.

Stepping into the lobby of the tower she took a quick look around. Despite it being a busy day, there was only the occasional Beacon student and the clerks milling around, minding their own business. Perfect for what she needed.

She quickly stepped into the room and informed the assistant behind the counter that she merely needed to meet someone, and took a few casual steps into the room and looked around.

She was merely here to scope out the place for the future hit, and so far, everything was as it had been detailed to her. A big open room with a few desks in the reception, and as she took the elevator upwards to the contact consoles, she smiled in satisfaction at the knowledge that everything was as it was supposed to be.

The console she needed to access was there as needed as well, and when she was done checking everything out, she quickly left, wanting to get back to her plans with Emerald and Mercury back at the Beacon dorms.

Suddenly, the Vytal Festival couldn't arrive fast enough.

Jaune had never been the most confident of individuals. He came from a family background with seven sisters, a mother and a father, of which only very little support on his dreams were held. His father had never approved of his huntsman dreams. His mother had always wanted him to stay back home where it was safe. His sisters loved and supported him, but wanted him to stay back in a fear of losing him.

Both of his parents were retired huntsmen, having stepped back when they had their first child together, in the hope of creating a family that could thrive. Having seen the horrors of battle firsthand, Jaune understood why his mother, Juniper Arc, didn't want that sort of life for him.

His father had outright refused to train him on the basis that Jaune would never amount to put the hours of dedication and passion it would take to good use. Jaune had tried to convince him for weeks, but nevertheless, Nicholas Arc was stubborn as a mule, and refused to put the time in to help his son achieve his dreams.

Having given up on making his parents help him, he instead turned to another hobby of his, one that he appreciated indifferently, and one that helped him whenever he felt like the entire world was against him. He had practiced guitar and singing since he was eight, and the feeling of strumming his fingers against the tough strings of the guitar always managed to resonate a feeling of hope and reignited passion within him.

Passion to strive high and to achieve his most valued dream. To one day become a huntsman, and to help the people in need.

It happened one night, his family having gone to sleep a long time ago. How he had managed to get his hands on fake transcripts to Beacon was anyone's guess, and probably a secret he would take with him to his grave.

Nevertheless he had them that night. Between his fingers was the ticket to his dreams, his aspirations. He quickly signed it, faked his parent's agreement signings, and sent the transcripts to the academy, a tiny hope that he would make it through shining in his chest.

The morning his acceptance letter arrived, possibly a week later, he had to conceal himself in his room in order to hide his overjoyed excitement from his family. The following night he packed his clothes, grabbed his guitar case, and went downstairs to grab one final thing from the living room wall.

Crocea Mors. It was a family heirloom, a prized possession for the Arcs. According to his parents this sword and shield weapon had been passed down from generation to generation, all the way back to his great grandfather who used the shield and sword in the Great War.

As he stood and watched the sword reflect the moon's light off its sharp edges, he was convinced. Despite what his father said, and the lack of support from his family, he was going to take that sword, and carry on the legacy that his great grandfather had started. He was going to become a hero.

He strapped the beautiful sword to his hip, a feeling of nervous pride rising in his chest, and departed from his so well-known home. A last look over his shoulder showed him the family farm house, in all its tranquil glory. With a final farewell to his family and home, he departed towards the Bullhead docks, setting off on his life's most important journey.

Now, almost five months later, he was sitting in his dorm room at Beacon. He had already been through so much, and so many times had he been certain he was about to die or be kicked out of Beacon for his false transcripts. But he had survived. Conquered and fought his way through every obstacle. In his mind it was in no small amount thanks to his team carrying him through his hardships.

Nora, Ren, and especially Pyrrha, had somehow, during these five short months, become his second family. Ren had quickly become the brother that Jaune had never had, and Pyrrha had carried him through so much hardship that he was certain he would have been killed had she not been there.

Nora was the one keeping the group together, and when the three others were either stressed or didn't know how to resolve personal conflict, her simple-minded nature made the answer abundantly clear. If mascots for teams existed, he was sure she was going to be it.

He could even thank them for giving him time to do what he was doing at this exact moment, which was teaching Ebris how to hold a guitar, and put your fingers on the proper strings. His team had helped take some labor off his shoulders by helping him with his homework, chores and training, and now he had a few hours to teach Ebris the basics of guitar.

"And this is the E Minor chord" Jaune instructed, guiding Ebris' fingers on the long neck of the wooden instrument.

Ebris tried a quick strum, and nodded softly as the sound waved through the dorm room.

"Hehe, I got this" He said confidently "As many chords as there is to remember, I feel like I can remember the ones you've shown me so far"

"Good" Jaune smiled, a sense of pride in his chest "If you continue like this, you'll be able to serenade all the girls you want"

Jaune couldn't help but jab at him teasingly.

"Oh yeah, like you did with Weiss not two days ago!?" He smirked.

"Wait, how did you-"

"You serenaded a Schnee, bro" Ebris laughed "Serenades are one thing, but the way you've been endlessly hitting on her and asking her out tends to not go unnoticed"

"Remind me to end my life later" Jaune said sarcastically before sighing "Okay, I think this is enough for today"

Ebris put down Jaune's guitar, and leaned back against the wall, rubbing his sore fingertips after having strum against the guitar strings over and over again as the pair practiced.

"My fingers are so sore" He laughed through the pain.

"You'll get used to that eventually" Jaune chuckled.

To give an example, he pulled his glove off and put his hand forward. The skin on his fingers and hands were rough and hardened, probably from excessive practice on his guitar.

"Your hands will eventually look like this" He explained "The more you practice, the tougher your hands get, and the less it will sting"

"Or I could just get a guitar pick at some point" Ebris laughed.

"Nah, as your teacher, I want you to play guitar with your hands" Jaune instructed "Not just because you will get better coordination with your hands, but because tough skin is useful in other everyday life situations"

Ebris nodded and smiled as he looked up at the ceiling in satisfied content. He was happy that he and Jaune had gotten so far with his practice, even getting so far as to play a very simple melody with three strings. It was slow and out of rhythm, but Ebris was convinced that he could at least play the song he had in mind when the time came.

"So, any particular reason you want to learn guitar now?" Jaune asked curiously "You already have school and huntsman training."

He sighed softly, the memories of Velvet and his confusing emotions running through his mind all at once as he tried to summarize what he felt. Something he had quickly realized was impossible when you didn't even know half of the emotions you're experiencing.

"Oof, that's a tough question" Ebris mumbled "You know how Velvet and I have been… sort of maybe had some rough patches lately?"

Jaune nodded and chuckled.

"You mean how Velvet almost looks like a tomato every time you approach her?"

"Yeah, something like that" Ebris nodded "Well… For the last, oh I don't know, maybe month or something, I've felt a weird set of emotions concerning her. For the longest time I had no idea about just what those emotions were, but I feel like I've finally realized just what is going on in my head"

Jaune nodded, but otherwise stayed silent, letting Ebris continue.

"However I look at it, my stomach is knotting itself nervously, and may god forbid I look her directly in the eye. My throat gets really dry, my mind basically stops working and I just get lost in those big brown orbs, and then I have to apologize to her after I realize that I've been starring at her for a good minute straight.

Whenever she's around I feel just safe, you know? Not that I don't feel secure at every other point in time, but she makes me feel so secure and… Jaune I think I'm in love with her, and I want to scream it at the top of my lungs, and keep it quiet all at the same time!"

He was completely certain of it. After close to a month of contemplation he was completely certain. The way his chest fluttered when she took his picture. The way he fell into a trance whenever he looked into her eyes. How he wanted to better himself and improve, all so that he could show her just how much stronger he had become.

He had fallen headfirst for Velvet, and after a month of speculation, there was not even a single speckle of doubt.

It was finally out in the open, though not to Velvet, at least to a friend he felt like could keep a secret until he could tell her personally. He trusted Jaune, he was friendly and deeply cared for his friends, and spilling the beans to Ebris' love interest in Velvet would be a complete contrast to his character.

"You know, a lot of us have been convinced about that for a good while now" Jaune laughed loudly.

'Like you should talk, mr. I Don't Know When Girls Are Into Me' Ebris thought flatly.

"But, no joke Ebris, I think she will return your feelings when you finally confess" Jaune reassured him.

"Are you sure? I mean, what if she doesn't feel the same way I do?"

"Dude, are you kidding me?" Jaune said, an unbelieving frown furrowing his brows "She gets nervous every time she sees you, can barely form words around you, she appreciates your concern and being there for her. Dude she likes you just as much as you like her"

Ebris nodded and sighed softly. He felt like getting up right now and confessing right there on the spot, but he was too stubborn to pass up the opportunity to do it at the dance, serenade and everything. The dance was only a week and a half away, but those otherwise ten short days each felt like they were an eternity underway.

"Urgh, why can't the dance just be here already…?"

"Ren, I really don't know about this…"

"Nonsense. You will have to know how to dance before the party"

It was about a week before the dance, and Ren and Velvet was standing in the middle of the dancefloor of the great hall, where the party was to take place. Around them, Weiss and Yang was running around and trying to get the last pieces of the preparation in place before the deadline.

Having adorned a loose fitting t-shirt and workout pants, she had the equipment to begin training for a slow dance. Now she just needed the confidence.

"We've been preparing for this moment for weeks Velv" Coco said with a smile as she sat on an instrument box "You're not backing out now are you?"

"Y-You know I crumble under pressure!" Velvet squeaked, stepping over to Ren and finally allowed herself to get close to him.

After taking his hand in her right and putting her left in the ride position in his side, he started to show her the steps of a basic ballroom dance. At first her pace and steps were sloppy, but the more they trained the more coordinated her steps became, in turn giving her the boost of confidence she needed.

Despite her earlier shyness, she wanted this to succeed. She was determined to learn to dance, so that the night would go the way she wanted it to. She had to do this, or her frail bunny heart would possibly not keep up with the stress of keeping such emotions secret.

She had never been more certain of something in her life. This was what she wanted. HE, was what she wanted. Her life had begun to completely revolve around Ebris, from wanting to help him with his homework, to sparring with him during training. She wanted to spend every waking moment by his side, and nothing would stop her. Not even herself.

She loved the way that his smile made her heart melt, and she could never get enough of the feeling of adrenaline pumping through her body whenever he would speak her name. Just him being there send her heart racing and a jolt of electricity run through her skin.

She imagined how it would be at the night of the dance. She knew Ebris wasn't the type to be seductive or flirty, but she still couldn't help but imagine him, leaning closer towards her, his warm breath against her ear. How he'd squeeze her hand and wrap an arm around her waist to pull her closer, closing his eyes just as he was about to-!

No Velvet! Don't think of such things now, you'll just step all over Ren's toes!

She screamed at herself to come back to her senses, and before she knew any better, the first slow dance practice was done.

"Okay, let's take five" Ren said softly "I can sense that your mind is… elsewhere"

Velvet couldn't help but simply nod and sighed as she sat down next to Coco, hoping that watching the girls of RWBY put up decorations and stress over what décor should go on the tables, could take her mind anywhere else but Ebris and the upcoming moment of truth.

"Do you guys have dates for the dance?" She asked softly, looking up at Coco, Fox and Yatsu, who was sitting around her.

"Not yet" Yatsu admitted, though a rare blush sprawled on his cheeks "But I do have a candidate to ask"

"OOoh, the gentle giant is blushing!" Coco laughed "Who is it? Is it that cute redhead from first year I've seen you stare at?"

"W-What!? I have done no such thing!" Yatsu mumbled, an exasperation in his voice that was rare for a person of his kind.

"I'm just teasing big guy" Coco chuckled "And to answer your question Velv, yeah. One of the students from third year asked me out. He was so cute, all blushing and shy. I couldn't resist accepting"

"And you Fox?"

Fox looked in Velvet's direction and shrugged.

"I think I'll just go alone" He mumbled, seemingly not caring too much "I'm too preoccupied with you and Ebris to even slightly enjoy my time at the dance anyway"

He chuckled softly and smiled, stretching his arms and bending his neck in a tired fashion. Velvet smiled along with him, though this was of a different reason. Once again Fox showed his concern for his team rather than his own, and it was helping so much on Velvet's nervousness for the dance that she wanted to get up right there and give her beloved teammate a hug.

She just might have the best team in the whole wide world.


	19. Chapter 19 - Windup

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 19 - Volume 2 - Windup_

 **A/N**

 **Hey everyone! And welcome back to the newest update for The Strength of Revenge! It has been so long since I updated this story, and I just couldn't help myself.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, leave a review if you did! It motivates me and ultimately gets rid of my writer's block!**

 **Thank you for reading and stay awesome!**

Autumn rolled around for Beacon faster than anyone had anticipated. As the weather gradually grew colder, more and more people tended to huddle up by a fireplace or under their bed covers. Velvet had always been used to the generally warmer weather of the grasslands of her hometown, so she had made sure to bring out her winter clothing faster than anyone else on the team. Sweaters, shorts and thick stockings seemed to be her default setting.

Not that it mattered right now. Ebris was currently in the middle of sweating all over his grim studies midterm exam, the one he and Weiss had studied so hard for him to pass. All those study hours late at night with Weiss breathing down his neck had led up to this very moment. He was fiddling nervously with his pen as he hunched over his exam paper.

"I swear to god if I flunk this, I am going to tie Weiss up and hang her on one of the school balconies" He grumbled, a sour expression on his face.

"Silence mr. Eachos!" Came sharply from the back of the exam room.

He cringed as he looked back over his shoulder, seeing Glynda Goodwitch, crop in hand, narrowing her eyes at him and tapping impatiently on the floor with her foot.

"S-Sorry professor, won't happen again!"

"Pff… hehehe…"

He glared over at Yang to his right, barely able to stifle a giggle.

'And you're next miss Xiao Long!' He thought angrily before looking back at his paper.

" _Imagine the following scenario: Your Bullhead has crashed in a forest. You're the first to wake up from unconsciousness, and you realize a herd of Griffins are approaching, both on the ground and in the air. Your teammates are all still in the crashed vehicle, knocked out cold, and the pilot is dead. Remember your biological and behavioral knowledge on Griffons and on Grimm to determine the best approach. Which of the following strategies do you decide to use:_

 _Fight off the Griffins on your own_

 _Barricade yourself in the Bullhead and wait for the griffins to disappear_

 _Run away from the Bullhead while making noise, making the griffins follow you, and in turn saving your teammates_

 _None of the above (Write your answer down below)_

"Wait, I know this one…" he widened his eyes in realization "If the goal is to get out of the situation with the least number of casualties then…"

He hunched back over the paper, an excitement rushing through him and bursting him forward towards victory.

He heaved a sigh of relief as he and the rest of the group walked out of the school building and out into the chilled area outside, having just completed their written midterm exams. Nora stretched with a bright smile and ran ahead, twirling in relief.

"OH MY GOD, it's finally over!" She yelled "Ren! I demand a serving of pancakes, STAT!"

"Calm down Nora" Ren mumbled in his usual calm tone "We still have the interview part of the exam next"

"Well we get to go to the dance first!" she said excitedly "Oh my goodness, I have to go get my dress ready! And my shoes, and my make-up, and my- "

"Aaaanyway," Ebris interrupted her "For once I can share Nora's excitement. If I had to listen to Goodwitch snapping her crop one more time I think I would have stuffed it down her throat"

"As much as I oppose meaningless violence, I have an incentive to agree" Weiss couldn't help but giggle "How did you do Ebris? I hope your lessons with me paid off"

"I think I did decently, actually" He said with a smile "At least I don't think I'm going to flunk the exam"

"That is good to hear" Weiss nodded "But we can't afford to relax. We still have that last interview exam before we can truly say we did it"

"What are you talking about Weiss!?" Nora yelled "This is EXACTLY the time to relax! The freaking DANCE is coming up!"

"Yeah, loosen up a little bit, ice queen" Yang smirked, much to said ice queen'ss disdain "We deserve a break. We've been preparing for these midterms all month, let's chill for a bit"

"I must admit, I wouldn't mind a small break myself" Pyrrha said warmly.

Velvet nodded, making her large bunny ears flop forward a little with the sudden motion.

"Well, we can all do our separate things for now" Blake proclaimed with her usual, calm demeanor "We all need to get things ready for the dance anyway"

'Oh, you have no idea' Ebris thought to himself, having to willfully keep himself from grinning knowingly 'It's going to be a night to remember'

Unknown to any of the students, there were three people watching them from afar. Namely a certain woman and her two subordinates.

"You two keep a close eye on that Nikos girl" Cinder mumbled "I will follow Eachos."

"Cinder, there's still one thing I don't understand" Emerald said with a confused look "I don't get why you are so obsessed with this guy"

"It is not as much of an obsession as it is… hmm… a liking, I would say" Cinder said with a playful smirk "It's not something I can explain, but he is intensely strong. Plus, there is that other side to him that we have already discussed. He is simply important to the plan. And if he can become entertainment for me until then, I might as well seize the opportunity"

"Right… Naïve child as he is, he will play well into the plan" Mercury mumbled, a little annoyed.

"Exactly. Now run along, both of you" She shooed them off and smirked to herself, a small flare glinting in her eyes "I have prey to stalk"

Having broken away with Jaune from the rest of the group and asked him if he could borrow his guitar for some last-minute practicing, he had quickly headed for the JNPR dorm room, grabbed Jaune's guitar case, and headed straight towards the bullhead station. He quickly arrived in Forever Fall, his trusty daggers by his side as he looked for a place to sit down.

He had always liked the calm of nature. As much as city life suited him and his needs better, there was always something relaxing about walking through a forest or sitting down and relaxing by a lakeside. His time living with his foster parents had taught him to appreciate nature and the many gifts it gave to humanity.

Lately he had had little opportunity to enjoy all the pleasures that the nature of the kingdom of Vale had to offer, not only because of the exams, but his insistent pushing of his studying, his training, and his social life. All of these factors had led to him having very few moments to himself, which only made him appreciate what little alone time he had all the more greatly.

The god of light had made sure to counter the god of darkness' creations with many of his own. Wildlife was sprawling in many places all around Remnant. Forever Fall was no different.

As he climbed over a rocky hillside, he smiled in satisfaction as his gaze fell over a gorgeous lakeview, mountains dotting the horizon and scarlet red trees washing over the landscape. He sat down with his back against a random tree and strummed his fingers against the instrument, the familiar sharp sting of silver-nylon strings cutting against his fingers.

He could almost sense how the vibrations of the music reverberated through the air and out into the area. He could hear birds twiddling in the trees, as if they were responding with music of their own. His heartbeat slowed as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to remember the song he was going to serenade Velvet with.

But as he was just about to strum the strings again and start to once again go through the rhythm and the melody of his song of choice, a voice surprised him, causing him to strum violently offkey.

"I didn't think to run into you here of all places, Ebris!"

He turned his head, only for his heart to sink. He didn't fear many things in this world. Grimm was one thing, certainly. But he knew how to fight them. Spiders was another. They're hairy, and weird looking. Eight legs and all. But he knew that he could either ignore them or squish them. Unless they were Grimm versions. They were somehow even more terrifying no matter their size, from the size of a little finger to the size of a boulder. And worst part of it all, they could be anywhere, in any crack, most likely much closer than he would ever know.

Interacting with Cinder was the final fear of his. Not only did he have no idea how to figure her out, not only did she flirt with him relentlessly, something that he still hadn't managed to figure out how to counter, but something about her just seemed completely off. Like whenever she stared into his eyes, she saw a prize that needed to be conquered rather than a person with emotions, goals and aspirations.

"Oh uhm… Hey Cinder" he tried, a nervous smile on his face "What are you doing here?"

"Oh I was just out for a stroll" she smiled, a certain playful glint in her eye.

"In Forever Fall? Alone?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Grimm tends to fear me more than I fear them" she snickered.

'Wow, I wonder why?' He thought to himself sarcastically, scooting away a little to make space for Cinder as she sat down beside him.

He dared to sneak a glance at her. She was still wearing that same Haven Uniform she had arrived in, a dark grey outfit with a stiff uniform jacket, a black and white checkered skirt and black tights.

He didn't ACTUALLY fear her. It was more like an inkling, like something about her seemed nerve wreaking but something he couldn't quite settle on. Like if she had her chance, she would draw a knife to his throat and end his life if he weren't careful.

"Why are you out here, Ebris?" She smiled over at him with a sultry smile.

"Oh uh… just practicing guitar for the dance in a couple of days" he blushed, hoping to keep the reason for his practicing to himself.

"Is that so?" her smile grew "Are you performing?"

"Well, I guess you could say that" he chuckled awkwardly, trailing off as he thought of what to say next.

A few awkwardly silent moments and Cinder scooted closer.

"You can tell me you know?" she smirked, her hand suddenly placed on his thigh "I won't tell a soul, I promise"

Her hand gave his leg a squeeze and a shiver ran up his spine. That sensation was new, and he didn't know what to call it.

"It's fine, really" he mumbled, nervously brushing her hand away "I'm just… nervous about it is all"

"Understandable" she smiled, scooting a little closer still "Nervousness is a natural human trait. It keeps us alive, as it were."

He nodded quietly, unable to, or maybe even unwilling, to find the words to keep the conversation flowing.

The winds brushed over the area as he strummed the strings once more, adamant to get back into practicing whether Cinder was listening or not.

He quietly began singing as he swung his fingers back and forth across the strings, a gentle mumble more than actual singing. 

" _If there's no one beside you, when your soul embarks…_

 _Then I will follow you into the dark"_

"Very lovely" Cinder snickered "Who is it for?"

A blush crept onto his face. Did she think it was about her? Hopefully not. How would she react exactly when he told her the truth?

"Uhm… Velvet Scarlatina of my team" he mumbled nervously.

Cinder's snicker suddenly soured, a frown on her face.

"Is that so?"

"Y-Yeah. I guess I have a bit of a crush on her"

"Hmm…"

He wondered what was going through her mind, but the sour expression disappeared as fast as it showed up, replaced by another of her well-practiced flirtatious smiles.

"Well, I better get going" She said, getting up and brushing her skirt free of dust "Wouldn't want Emerald and Mercury to get lonely"

"Right…"

He watched her walk back towards the gravel road she had come from, but just before she turned around a tree and disappeared, she smiled back at him and blew him a kiss, winking at him.

"Save me a dance, alright?"

"Uhh.. s-sure…"

He already regretted those words before they even left his mouth, but before he could correct his mistake, Cinder was already gone.

"Dammit…"

He didn't know if he should be excited for the dance or not.

As Cinder walked away, a satisfied smirk played on her lips. By playing with Ebris she had learned a key piece of information.

"So, he has the hots for Scarlatina, huh?" her smirk became even more wicked "That could prove useful"

Jaune couldn't believe what he was seeing. It tore at him emotionally, how Weiss was asking that tool Neptune to go to the dance with her. He could physically feel his heart rip in half. All those attempts at asking her out. All those embarrassing serenades. All those annoyingly long hours practicing on his guitar till his fingers were sore and glowing red from strain. All that time and effort to open up to his crush in Weiss Schnee. All blown away like dust in the wind in the span of a few feeble moments.

He felt a lot of different things. Anger at Neptune for taking Weiss from him so easily. One look at the smug bastard and she was head over heels for him. Disappointment that his countless attempts at wooing her had ultimately failed. Sorrow that he would never get her to see in him what he could give her. But most of all, he felt anger. Anger at himself for failing, AGAIN. He clenched his fists and tossed the white rose he had brought to the ground, hurrying away from the scene.

Unknown to him, a certain redheaded spartan was watching from afar, her heart aching at his misery. She felt such inner agony for him, and she wanted to make it right, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Instead, she watched him almost sprint away, his tears blinking in the air behind him as he disappeared from view.

A couple of days later, the day of the dance had finally arrived. The students had been dismissed early that day, to everyone's excitement. Especially one certain hammer-wielder was excited for tonight, and she was already speeding all over JNPR's dorm room to put together the perfect clothes. She was adamant that she would be dancing with Ren all night, to which he was prompt to call out that Nora had a nasty habit of running out of energy at 23:00 stat every night. He didn't imagine she would stay up for the entire night.

Another person who was surprisingly excited for the party was Coco. Not only would she get to dance with cute boys all night or get to see Ebris' awkward dance moves, but she would also get to see him confessing to her favorite bunny girl in the world. She had somehow convinced Velvet to let her borrow her camera so she could take a picture the moment Ebris popped the question.

Each of the teams headed to their respective dorm rooms, Ebris complaining about a lack of space as the girls crammed into the bathroom to change and put on their make-up.

"I swear, I am personally going to march to Ozpin's office and demand a bigger dorm room" He groaned.

"Don't be such a downer Ebris" Fox said with a sly smirk, having changed into a crisp black tuxedo "Not today. We're about to have the time of our lives"

"We're actually lucky that we don't have an emergency mission or something" Yatsuhashi mumbled quietly "Be ready for such a case though. We upper classmen usually take missions on such nights to let the younger years have some time off"

"The responsibility of more experience I guess" Ebris chuckled.

He gazed over to Yatsuhashi, who was fiddling nervously with a beautiful corsage he had bought a few days earlier. Ebris had never seen the gentle giant so off center. Yatsuhashi was the typical meditative type, always calm. Despite his size he easily blended into the background when it suited him. People basically only noticed him until he wanted them to.

But since a few days ago, he had just felt… offkey, to Ebris. He was nervous, he spoke even less than usual, he constantly had the same goofy grin or nervous gaze on his features, and Ebris had even caught him staring off into space a couple of times. This was not at all like him.

"My, Yatsu! Is that for your date?" He asked with a teasing smile.

The gentle giant grinned goofily as he fiddled with the flower petals on the corsage.

"Y-Yeah… I figured she would like a surprise" he mumbled quietly "Do you think it's too much?"

"Nah, don't worry about it bro" he grinned back at his trusty comrade as he patted him on the back "You got this. Find your center"

The giant nodded and took a deep breath.

"Not a bad idea. I'll go meditate a little bit before the dance. Might take a while, so feel free to head off ahead of me"

Ebris nodded and patted him once again on the shoulder. Right then, a set of hands latched over Ebris' eyes and a mischievous giggle could be heard behind him.

"Okay Ebris, Velvet and I are all dressed up" She smirked "We're going to have to ask you to keep your back turned until the two of us have set off"

"Aww come on!" he whined in annoyance "I want to see what Ve-! I-I mean what the two of you look like!"

Coco chuckled, keeping her hands over Ebris' eyes.

"Nope! You'll get to see her at the dance! Not a minute earlier!"

"Urgh…" He groaned in defeat "Fine! Okay, fine. Just get out of here before I turn around anyway"

"Good boy" Coco smirked and grabbed Velvet's hand before yanking her along out into the hallway "See you later boys!"

Ebris pouted and turned around after he heard the door close behind the two girls of the team.

"I get the feeling they're going to outshine all of us" Fox joked.

"Yeah, tell me about it" He pouted "I didn't even have any time to pick out a proper outfit…"

"Hey, good thing you could borrow some of my clothes" Fox smirked "Or you would be forced to wear Yatsuhashi's old prom clothes"

"I would rather show up in a dress" Ebris laughed "Anyway, we should probably start getting changed"

"Right, let's do this" Fox smirked confidently.

They gave each other a well spirited high five as the two of them moved to the bathroom, Fox to fix his hair, Ebris to change, and left Yatsuhashi to tend to his plaguing nervousness.


	20. Chapter 20 - Sparks In The Moonlight

_RWBY_

 _The Strength of Revenge_

 _Chapter 20 - Volume 2 - Sparks in the moonlight_

The dance had arrived and was in full swing as Ebris stepped into the room, Yatsuhashi, who had finished his meditation early to be able to go to the dance with the other two boys, and Fox in tow right behind him. A gentle, soothing tone was swaying out from the speakers settled around the room. The lighting kept swaying around the room in a gentle pace, switching between purple, blue, green, yellow, red and back to purple again. Students were chatting, dancing and having fun.

Jaune, Ren and Nora were sitting by a table, chatting and enjoying their drinks, but it was obvious to Ebris that a certain spartan seemed to be missing. He found it odd that he didn't find the redhead with her team like she always was but figured that she had had some last details to check up on with make-up or her dress or something, and let it go for now.

There was team CRDL over by their own table. It looked like Cardin and Russel were in the middle of a "Who can chuck the most punch?" competition. Ebris couldn't help but chuckle a little at Russel's weak attempt at keeping himself in control. Poor dude looked like he was about to puke.

Ebris noted to himself how team CRDL had changed ever since that Grimm incident in Emerald Forest, the one where Jaune took down a giant Urza all by himself. It had been an impressive display, and even better, Ebris could rejoice in how Cardin seemed to soil himself when Jaune dared him to EVER touch him or his team ever again. Ebris enjoyed Jaune finally putting his foot down when it came to Cardin's relentless bullying.

He smirked happily as he turned left at CRDL's table, following the right side of the dance floor and approached an open table, before settling down with his two male teammates.

"What a party" Ebris smirked over at Fox "RWBY really outdid themselves"

"Indeed" Yatsuhashi and Fox nodded, Fox wearing a bright grin and swaying his head gently to the rhythm of the music "I get the feeling Weiss was in charge of the music"

"Probably" Yatsu added, looking around nervously "I imagine Ruby's or Yang's choices would be a little more… Bombastic?"

"Putting that mildly, aren't you?"

The three boys spun their heads to look in the direction of the new voice. Ebris couldn't help but let a blush rush over his face as he spotted Yang and the rest of Team RWBY approach their table, each of them donned in beautiful dresses and make-up. With them was Sun in his usual getup, except this time he went with a black jacket rather than his white shirt and bare chest. A cute redhead with bright emerald eyes and a big smile was with them, a faded green and grey dress hugging her features, as she herself hugged Ruby's arm like her life depended on it.

"Salutations!"

Ebris had seen her around before. Penny was what he recalled her name was. He didn't know her terribly well, but she seemed nice, if not a little weird. She and Ruby had become friends recently, and personally, Ebris thought they were a perfect fit.

"You all look stunning" Yatsuhashi commented with a small, respectful smile.

Ebris nodded his agreement "Are you guys dancing tonight?"

"Only until my feet burn" Yang smirked and punched into her palm "I am ready to get my Yang on!"

"What Yang is trying to say, is yes, we will be dancing tonight" Weiss commented, half mindedly running a hand through her off-center ponytail "I hope you will be joining us, Ebris"

"Who, me?" He burst out laughing "You guys saw me last time, I can't dance"

"Don't be a dolt" Weiss rolled her eyes "You danced up to par."

"Yeah, you were at least better than vomit boy" Yang smirked, throwing her hand over her shoulder and gesturing to Jaune, who was now idling by the punch bowl, his head hung low.

Ebris frowned a little as he noticed how solemn Jaune seemed and turned to the others.

"He seems a little down, doesn't he?"

The rest of the group turned to gaze at him and upon confirming with each their own nods, Ruby handed her drink to Ebris.

"I'll talk to him"

She broke off from the group and headed over to comfort Jaune however she could. Yang shrugged and smirked as she headed over towards the dance floor.

"Whelp, I have some steam to blow off. Enough of this slow dance crap" She smirked, heading straight over towards the speaker system placed by the edge of the dance floor.

Everyone began breaking apart and Ebris settled back down in his seat. The entire time he had a nagging feeling of something missing, and he suddenly realized what it was.

"Wait, where the hell is Coco and Velvet?"

Fox and Yatsuhashi shared knowing looks with each other, their smirks growing on their lips.

"Oh, they're probably… around somewhere" Fox chuckled.

"Wait what is that-"

"Oh hey, there's your date Yatsu" Fox interrupted Ebris abruptly as he patted the giant on his shoulder "Go talk to her!"

"O-Oh! Yatsu perked up and smiled to himself before standing up, almost slamming his knees on the tabletop "I'll do that!"

"And I'll go with you! For uhh… moral support!" Fox quickly jumped up and darted off with Yatsuhashi, leaving Ebris confused.

"Huh…? What?" He mumbled. He blinked a bit as he took in what happened, completely perplexed "That's probably the fastest I've seen Yatsu run"

He looked around, baffled. He had suddenly been left completely alone, everyone else off to do something else.

"Well, if I can't find Velvet and I have nothing else to do," He pondered, scratching his chin "I might as well take Weiss up on her dance offer."

And with that he got up from his seat, emptied his drink, and headed towards the dance floor.

Cinder smiled wickedly as she quietly glanced around the room, one hand on Mercury's side and the other on his shoulder. Everywhere around them, the teenage student body seemed to be too busy having a good time to notice a single "student" slipping out between all the pleasantries. She leaned closer to Mercury and whispered in his ear.

"The coast is clear. And the virus is ready, right?"

"Yeah. No problems from here"

"And Ebris?"

"Urgh, he's as disgustingly happy and mindless as the rest of them"

"Good. I'll be in touch."

She smirked discreetly and pulled away from Mercury before excusing herself and heading towards the open gate on the way towards the school courtyard.

She quickly made her way towards the CCT tower, tapping a button on her scroll as she walked. Her outfit began dematerializing and rematerializing around her, forming a tight leather jumpsuit around her curvaceous body and a black mask to cover her facial features. With that done, she smirked and stepped out of her hiding place, casually strolling up towards the two men standing guard by the entrance to the CCT tower, their rifles glowing menacingly between the men's hands.

The man to the left raised his rifle in alarm as she approached.

"Halt! State your name, status and purpose for your intrusion!"

Cinder just smirked and rolled her eyes. This was going to be a cake walk. She was half convinced that whatever security Ironwood had employed to guard the CCT towers were but buffoons pretending to be at least a little capable of anything. Not much more than prey for her to walk all over.

After having made short work of the inexperienced young men parading as guardsmen, she strolled inside and popped her shoulder with a satisfied groan.

"This first… Ebris next"

"Oooh goodness, I am so nervous"

Velvet trudged nervously around in JNPR's room, Coco smiling comfortably from her place on the edge of the bed.

"Thank god Pyrrha was able to sneak us in" Velvet kept mumbling as she fiddled nervously with her dress skirt "Oh gosh, I can't do this Coco… this is way too much for my poor heart to handle…"

"Velvet, it is WAY too late to back out now" Coco said, a frown visible over the top rim of her glasses "You've been preparing yourself for close to a month and a half!"

"I-I know but… oh for the love of Dust, this is so nerve wreaking"

"Hey, if you can look straight in the face of a Grimm and live to tell the tale, you'll survive one evening with your crush" Coco laughed.

"That Grimm can't hurt my feelings though!" Velvet squeaked in nervousness.

"Velvet, sit." Coco commanded quietly as she patted the seat beside her.

Velvet quickly obeyed, her ears hanging low as she sat beside the girl that had quickly become one of her best friends.

"Want to know a secret?" Coco asked her with a devilish smile.

"Yeah, of course. You know I can keep them" Velvet smiled back sheepishly.

"I used to be just like you. Nervous and scared, that is."

"W-What?"

Velvet's eyes shot open in shock. Coco had once been scared? THE Coco Adel who wanted to run her own fashion shows on the side beside her Huntress job, the Coco who could stare into the eyes of an Ursa Grimm and grin before pulverizing it with her weapon. That same Coco was once a shy and meek girl just like herself?

"No way. Nuh uh. That is just not true" Velvet refused to believe it "I refuse to believe a word of what you just said"

"Want proof, Fluffy?" Coco smirked as she whipped out her crisp, leather wallet and rifled through the different pockets.

"Ah hah!" She smirked and finally pulled a small picture from one of the pockets and handed it to Velvet carefully. Velvet's ears perked up and her jaw dropped to the ground as she realized who the picture depicted.

There was barely any resemblance at all, but Velvet could still tell that it was a very young Coco Adel, based on the short brown hair and her dark, coffee brown eyes. The so familiar highlight of bright caramel was gone though. The girl's skin was not nearly as smooth or flawless as the Coco Velvet had come to know over the last couple of years, littered here and there with the occasional bundle of acne and a bright red zit in various places on her cheeks and forehead.

The nervous smile that the girl wore was nothing like the smug grin Coco was known for carrying around, and unlike the current Coco, the girl in the picture was wearing braces on top of a completely crooked set of teeth. Her stylish sunglasses were replaced by a big round set of thin reading glasses, and her hair was set up in two very short and very messy twintails. Behind her was placed a man and a woman, most likely her parents, the man tall and lanky with a gentle, polite smile and stubles on his neck and chin, long dark brunette hair donning his head. By his side was Coco's mother, the same gentle smile on her face, her black hair set up in a ponytail that was laid upon her shoulder.

"H-How… how the hell is this possible?" Velvet managed to mutter in disbelief.

"That, my friend, was me five years ago" Coco said with a proud smile on her face "I was the stereotypically nerdy girl. Always sat in the front of the class, was a little teacher's pet. I was actually really good at math at one point"

She straightened her back out as she continued her story.

"So, I didn't really talk to any of the other kids and I just decided to focus on my studies and graduating.

But as a result, I was always kind of isolated by my peers, not only because of my apparent nerdiness, but also because I was surprisingly strong. I could lift several of the other students at once if I tried. This clashed a little bit with my nerdy status, and several… shall we say, incidents, occurred because I didn't always realize just how physically strong I was. I accidentally hurt a few students, a few rumors began spreading, and on the flip of a dime, people began avoiding me all together."

"Then what happened?" Velvet asked quietly.

"I decided I had had enough" Coco smirked confidently, fiddling idly with her sunglasses as she replied "I decided to become the person I had always wanted to be. The confident girl, the girl who wouldn't take any bullshit. The girl who refused to get pushed around by people who thought she was lower than them"

She scoffed with a smirk as she put her glasses back in place.

"I keep this photo on me to remind myself just who I was, who I am now, and the amount of work I had to put in to change. I remind myself how proud I am of my progress and my effort. That I can trust myself and the decisions I make.

"And you should do the same too, with your nervousness. Don't let it control you, like my insecurities controlled me for a long time. Believe in yourself and believe in your strengths. Trust me, it will be worth it once you take a chance."

She patted Velvet on the shoulder and gestured for her to follow her.

"Now get out there and whoo your boyfriend"

"Dammit Coco, he's not my boyfriend!"

Velvet complained and stomped her foot in embarrassment as she walked behind Coco.

"Not yet anyway…" Coco smirked knowingly, as they made their way down the hall.

Back at the party, Ebris had finally managed to pull away from the dance floor and sighed in contempt.

"Okay, enough dancing for one evening" he mumbled, his feet already sore "I might have overdone it a little bit."

"Oh, come now Ebris, don't be a wuss" Yang smirked.

Having led him over to her and her team's table with them, Yang was currently wearing that shit-eating grin she always wore when she wanted to tease someone.

"That's easy for you to say" Ebris pouted "You spend all your time at nightclubs"

"I do NOT!" She said, feigning insult "I have been way too busy! Training and school have been as hectic for us as it has been for you!"

"I sincerely doubt that, Yang" Weiss chimed in as she took a sip of her drink "He is currently going through two semesters of homework and studying in only one semester's time. Plus, he is our upperclassman."

"Weiss, for once this semester, just back me up!" Yang complained.

Ebris chuckled and rolled his eyes at the bombastic blonde's antics.

"Whatever you say, Blondie. I need to go get ready" He smirked as he parted from the group, looking around cautiously to make sure Velvet, wherever she was, didn't notice him leaving the party behind.

As he moved towards the edge of the party and into the halls of the school, the pumping music and the lights eventually faded, along with the laughter, giggles and casual chatter of the students that he left behind. Before long, he heard nothing else than his own breathing and the tapping of his feet against the floors of the hallway.

He swiped a chair from one of the classrooms he passed and quickly rushed back to the dorms to grab Jaune's guitar case, mentally thanking him for his assistance in the matter, before he hurried upstairs. He huffed a little bit as he moved up the stairs towards the roof, his missing training beginning to influence his body.

"Damn… I'm getting out of shape"

"Oh I don't know, you look good from where I am standing"

He tensed up nervously as he heard that voice from further down the hall. He slowly turned around and watched as Cinder stepped out of the shadows. His eyes widened and his jaw slacked as he saw her in a sexy black dress that perfectly hugged her curves, an open skirt showing off her entire right leg. She wore a wolfish, confident grim and long black gloves that reached almost up to her elbows.

"Hello Ebris" She purred, smirking as she walked towards her prey "Aren't you supposed to be back at the dance?"

His heartbeat quickened at her approach and he collected himself and his thoughts as he put down the chair and guitar case to turn towards her fully.

"I-I could ask you the same thing, you know?"

It was a weak response at best, but his brain was still in the middle of its reboot.

"I suppose. Care to find out?"

She smirked and placed a hand on her right hip, protruding it out as she posed her body to put even more emphasis on her curves. Ebris gulped and forced his eyes to meet Cinder's as he replied.

"I-I'm sorry but, I got somewhere to be. I really need to get going"

He turned and reached to pick up his supplies, but a strong force suddenly pushed him in the shoulder and threw him off balance. A strong hand locked around his wrist and turned him around before his back was forced against the hallway wall.

He looked up in surprise to see Cinder with a sultry gaze and a teasing smirk, pressing up against his front and his back against the wall, his arm locked beside his head and her other arm resting confidently on the other side. He gulped again, his heartbeat suddenly speeding up to a million miles a minute as she leaned in with a small giggle, her bosom gently pressing into his chest.

"I do not believe no is an answer this time. That girl… Velvet was it? She can wait for a few minutes"

He widened his eyes and bared his teeth in a growl as all the embarrassment and nervousness caved in to reveal a pure, white-hot anger. His crush's name being mentioned with such disregard ignited a fire in him that he had not felt for quite a while.

He roared as he grabbed her free arm with his left and forced it onto her back, earning a surprised yelp and a pained grunt as he twisted her arm and twirled around, pushing against her back as he forced her front into the wall he had just occupied. He growled menacingly into her ear, almost spitting the next words into her face.

"Don't you EVER, talk about her with such disrespect again, do you understand me?!"

He could almost have sworn he saw a tinge of fear in her eyes before she collected herself and glared back at him with a cold, unnerved and unmoving gaze.

"Fine. Suit yourself"

With that affirmation he let go of her forcefully, almost pushing her to the floor as he turned, grabbed the chair and the guitar case, and stomped upstairs, his angry footsteps echoing in the halls a long time after he disappeared.

Cinder grabbed her sore wrist with her free hand, angry small tingles and sparks of flame dancing across her fingertips as she glared in the direction that Ebris had left.

"Fine then… another time, little Ebris. You'll see that no one else deserves you."

Ebris sighed quietly and ran a hand through his hair, trying to control his thundering heartbeat. That bitch had talked about Velvet with such disrespect and disregard… It pissed him off to no end. But he had to let it go for now. He could kick Cinders ass later if he wanted to.

For now, though…. Showtime.

He sighed as he reached the top of the stairs, clenching his fist on the handle on the guitar case as he stared at the door to the roof for a moment. This was it.

He took another deep breath and finally managed to calm himself, before pushing open the door, a smile breaking out on his face.

Velvet was standing by the edge of the of the roof, a small smile on her features. Her long, brunette hair was waving behind her in the wind, along with her long dress skirt.

And the dress. Wow. Wow was all the words that ran through Ebris' mind. A long skirted white dress perfectly covered her body, emphasizing her curves. The dress was open in the back from her shoulder blades all the way down to the small of her back. He could tell she was wearing make-up, not that he ever believed that she had needed it. He had a hard time describing it, but whatever she had done, it made the moon shine just a little bit brighter on her face and features, making her shine like an angel.

A brunette angel with large bunny ears.

"Velvet…?"

His voice barely escaped him in an awed whisper, but it was still enough for Velvet to hear him, her ears perking up in realization as she looked over her shoulder to gaze at him.

"Ebris…"

A small, shy and nervous smile spread on her pretty face as she turned in his direction.

"I was hoping you would show up"

 **A/N**

 **THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU so much for reading today's two chapters of The Strength of Revenge!**

 **It has been a hot minute since I last updated, and I feel terrible for letting you guys wait for so long. I'm finally at my last year of college, and I just need to get the essentials covered, so there's always that.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this one, since, as I said, it HAS been quite a while since I last updated. Next time we will finally see the climax of the dance, Ebris' and Velvet's emotions, as well as get a better look at some side characters that will get a more prominent role later in the story!**

 **Once again, I push you to leave a review, as it motivates me a lot with my continued writing! Leave an idea for future plotlines or scenes, as I usually just write the stories on the fly, and I would love your input!**

 **See you guys next time, and as always, keep reading my lovelies!**


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